In a fiery exchange in the upper house of Parliament, BJP MP and actor Suresh Gopi hit back at CPI(M) MP John Brittas, calling out what he described as hypocrisy and misinformation in Brittas’ statements regarding the Waqf Act amendments and Kerala’s political landscape. Suresh Gopi delivered a blistering counterattack against CPI(M)’s John Brittas during a heated debate on Waqf Board amendments and Kerala’s political landscape, after Brittas launched a scathing attack, alleging discrimination in religious matters and accusing the government of trying to alienate Muslims from Waqf properties.
The Debate Over Waqf and Religious Discrimination
The confrontation began when Brittas launched a scathing critique of the government’s proposed changes to Waqf laws, accusing the ruling party of “extending bulldozer politics to the divine realm.” The CPI(M) member claimed the amendments discriminated against Muslim religious properties while protecting Hindu endowments, declaring: “Sir they have already discriminated amongst people, they segregated people from
people. You know this bill what they intending, they are segregating gods from gods, they’re segregating Hindu gods from Allah. This act of limitation is not applicable to Devastanam, not applicable to a Hindu god, they want to make it applicable to Allah. How can they discriminate between gods? He further said, “This is extension of bulldozer, digging, and danga. Whatever is happening in this country that has been extended to a piece of legislation.”
Switching to Malayalam, he claimed the BJP was shedding crocodile tears for the Christians and that Christians were being persecuted every day. Then he brought up the film Empuraan. He said, “The other day we spoke about the movie Empuraan. There is a character in the film Munna. You can see that Munna here. You can see a Munna on BJP benches. Malayalis will figure it out. Kerala will figure it out. That is Kerala’s history. Kerala will keep your poison out. One man (read Gopi) has won. Like we closed the account in Nemom, we will close this account also. Malayalis made a mistake and they will rectify it soon. Don’t worry.”
Brittas then brought up Munambam, a village in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, where a conflict has arisen over 400 acres of land designated as Waqf property, despite being home to Christian families. “Nobody will lose their house in Munambam. The Left government in Kerala has the responsibility to protect all families. It’s a promise of the government. The government had the wherewithal and courage to construct 5 lakh houses for the homeless. We don’t need anybody’s charity,” he said.
Suresh Gopi’s Fiery Speech
Hitting back, Gopi later said, “There was an indirect reference to a Malayalam movie. He was talking about Empuraan… Does he dare to have a re-release of 51 cuts TP Chandrasekharan (based on the life of Revolutionary Marxist Party leader TP Chandrashekharan who was stabbed to death), Left Right Left? Two films, does Mr. Brittas or his Kairali channel or his chairman in the Kairali channel who is a leading actor in the Malayalam film industry, I do not wish to take his name because he is a noble soul. Do they have the guts, does the chief minister of Kerala have the guts? Sir, they should have the guts to let these two films be screened again, permitted to be screened, then they can start yelling for Empuraan and one more matter of fact which is the only truth, which I have to be letting the Indian nationals, I have to be letting it known to the Indian citizens. There was no Censor pressure on the producers of Empuraan, I was the first person to call up the producers and ask them to delete my name in the form of a credit card towards the beginning of the film. So this is the truth. I’m ready to take any punishment if this turns out to be a false on-record deposit that I am making in this upper house. Sir, it was the decision of the producers and the lead actor of the film with the permission of the director of the film to remove 17 portions from that film. It was their decision and what is the circus which is going on in the name of politics in the whole of the state?”
Speaking on Munambam, Gopi said, “This party has killed some 800-odd people in Kerala… 600 families were cheated because of your politics of murder in Munambam. They had set up a commission which was thrown out by the HC, buried in the Arabian Sea. You will be buried by the people of Kerala, irrespective of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians,” he said.
As tempers flared, Brittas attempted to have Gopi’s remarks expunged, calling them “derogatory.” But the Chair did not agree to it instantly.
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