Thrissur: Actor turned politician Suresh Gopi has landed in a fresh controversy amid his preparations to contest the general elections as BJP candidate from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency. Suresh Gopi and his family had offered a golden crown to Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral, here in January a few days before his elder daughter Bhagya's wedding.
But, now this golden crown has put the BJP leader in a tight spot as allegations ran rife that the ornament offered to Mother Mary's statue was only a copper-plated one. Following this, Congress approached the church priest asking to measure the purity of the metal used in the crown.
Talking to Manorama News, Thrissur corporation councillor Leela Varghese, a Congress representative said that the believers wanted to know the quantity of gold in the crown.
“ Some of the parishoners contacted me and raised their concern regarding the rumours about the crown's value. People alleged that a gold-coated copper crown was offered to the church. They also expressed interest in knowing the quantity of gold used in the crown. So, I requested the priest to raise the matter in the parish meeting," said the councillor.
It was on January 15, the BJP leader accompanied by his wife and two daughters offered the crown to the church.
Talking to Manorama News, the goldsmith who made the crown revealed that he took 17 days to make the beautiful ornament weighing five sovereigns.
Though Gopi claimed that he offered the crown as keeping his promise, it is alleged that he used the golden crown as a political gimmick to win the hearts of voters from the Christian community. His daughter's wedding which made headlines with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malayalam actors including Mammootty and Mohanlal among invitees was held in Thrissur's Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple. The family offered the golden crown to the church while seeking blessings from Mother Mary two days before this wedding.
