Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi has sparked a fresh controversy by suggesting that the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on prominent Malayalam film personalities, including Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Amit Chakkalakkal, are a deliberate attempt to “bury” the ongoing Sabarimala gold-plating controversy.
The central agency’s raids were conducted at the residences and business establishments of the actors as part of an investigation into an alleged luxury car smuggling case involving vehicles illegally imported through Bhutan.
Allegations of Political Conspiracy
Speaking at a public dialogue (‘Kalunk Samvad’) in Malampuzha, Palakkad, Suresh Gopi claimed he harbours a suspicion that the central agency’s action was orchestrated to divert public attention from the mounting pressure on the CPI(M)-led state government over the Sabarimala gold-panel corruption issue.
“Some forces want to ensure the gold theft at Sabarimala is not discussed,” Gopi stated. “I suspect that the film stars have been ‘put on the scale’ to be weighed and measured (judged by the public) for that very purpose. This is just a process of contaminating and tarnishing those who are shining whenever issues affecting the government arise,” he added.
The Union Minister, while refraining from elaborating further due to his official capacity, asserted that “everything is an intrigue” (‘kulsitham’). Gopi’s comments are particularly striking as they allege that a central agency, the ED, is effectively being used by or on behalf of the state’s ruling CPI(M) to deflect political heat, an agency usually perceived to be acting independently or at the behest of the central government.
