KOZHIKODE : In a curious gesture, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Tourism Suresh Gopi, in his first trip to Kerala after assuming office, will visit the house of CPM leader and former chief minister E K Nayanar at Kalliasseri in Kannur on Wednesday.
Suresh, scheduled to arrive at Karipur airport late on Tuesday, will offer prayers at the Tali Temple in Kozhikode early Wednesday before visiting the local BJP office. Thereafter, he will leave for Kannur and offer tribute to the late BJP leader K G Marar at his memorial on Payyambalam beach. He will then proceed to Nayanar’s residence.
Suresh is an ardent admirer of Nayanar. Kollam MP N K Premachandran was his classmate at Fatima Mata National College, Kollam, and both were active in left politics then. Suresh had visited the late communist stalwart’s house two years ago and shared the photo with Nayanar’s wife Sarada on social media with the caption, “There was a chief minister like this in Kerala. Why did you depart so early, leaving us orphaned? We Malayalees need your presence now more than ever.”
Suresh had told reporters in Thrissur last year that Nayanar is his “comrade and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (former CPM state secretary) knows this fact”. He had also praised Congress leader K Karunakaran, “who stood for the people like Nayanar”.
Meanwhile, Nayanar’s family sources said they don’t have any intimation about the Union minister’s visit. “However, there is nothing unusual. He comes home and meets amma whenever he visits Kannur,” they said.
Talking to reporters after taking charge of his ministries in Delhi, Suresh said he would try to exploit the untapped potential of tourism in Kerala. “In his pre-poll discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kerala is the tourism destination of the country. There were officers from Kerala who occupied the office of the director general of tourism. There will be serious discussions on the sector,” he said.
To a question, he said oil exploration possibilities in Kerala will be studied in depth. There were some talks about the presence of oil in Kollam. Such things will also be studied, Suresh added.
