Wayanad: In a tit-for-tat political manoeuvre, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday filed a “missing person” complaint against Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a day after the Congress-affiliated Kerala Students Union (KSU) lodged a similar plaint against Thrissur MP and Union Minister Suresh Gopi.

Mukundan Palliyara, State President of the BJP Kerala Scheduled Tribes (ST) Morcha, submitted the complaint to the Wayanad Superintendent of Police, alleging that Priyanka Gandhi has been “missing” from public duties for more than three months.

In his letter, Palliyara said the MP has not visited Chooralmala, which suffered one of Kerala’s worst disasters, claiming hundreds of lives and causing damages worth crores. “Despite Wayanad having one of the highest tribal populations in the state, the MP has been absent from the constituency and has not addressed pressing tribal issues,” the complaint read.

The move comes after KSU district president Gokul Guruvayoor filed a complaint with Thrissur East Police, alleging that Suresh Gopi has also been allegedly absent from his constituency for nearly three months, particularly in the wake of the arrest of two Kerala nuns in Chhattisgarh on human trafficking charges. Critics accused Gopi of remaining silent while other Kerala MPs demanded the nuns’ release.

The BJP dismissed the KSU complaint as a “blank fire,” with BJP Thrissur district president Justin Jacob insisting that Suresh Gopi has been active in all key constituency matters. “He promptly intervened in the issue involving the nuns, and the church leadership is aware of his efforts,” Jacob said. The development also follows remarks by a Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who publicly noted that he hadn’t seen Suresh Gopi in Thrissur.