Thrissur: Aanandavalli, a housewife from Porathissery in Thrissur, opened up about facing humiliation from Union Minister Suresh Gopi during the Culvert Friendly Debate in Irinjalakuda. The Union Minister openly rejected her plea for help in recovering her money from the scam-hit Karuvannur Co-operative Bank. He asked the elderly woman to approach Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and request him to recover the money from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which probed the scam.

Speaking to Manorama News, Aanandavalli expressed her disappointment over Suresh Gopi’s harsh reply.

“The Union Minister should not have spoken to me in such a rude manner. I felt very bad. I thought he would console me and promise action. But his response was very shocking. I sought his help to get back my money from Karuvannur Bank. My savings of ₹1.15 lakh are still stuck there. During the COVID period, the bank distributed around ₹50,000. But now, I don’t know whom to approach for withdrawing my money. I need it for my medical expenses,” said the woman.

She added that she had approached Suresh Gopi in the hope that he would help her.

“During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Suresh Gopi promised us that he would take action to return our money once he was voted to power. Believing his words, I voted for him and visited him at the event with great anticipation. But he told me to approach the Chief Minister. I am a poor woman who earns her livelihood by working as a housemaid. I don’t know how to meet the CM or the ED,” she said.

It was on Wednesday that Suresh Gopi responded harshly to Aanandavalli.

Rejecting her plea, the BJP leader challenged the Chief Minister to return to the depositors the money seized by the Enforcement Directorate from the bank.

“Tell your Chief Minister to return your money if there is any provision to distribute the funds seized by the ED. I am saying this in public. Otherwise, you should approach your MLA,” said Suresh Gopi, mocking the woman.

In response, the woman expressed her helplessness and asked how she could personally approach the Chief Minister. Agitated, Suresh Gopi shouted: “Then climb onto my chest!”

This is the second time Suresh Gopi has drawn criticism for harsh remarks towards elderly citizens in Thrissur. At another Culvert-Friendly Debate in Pullu, he rejected an elderly man’s petition for a house and told him to approach the panchayat. While that incident sparked a row, he later admitted it was a mistake, but also accused the CPM of politicising the matter. Alleging a CPM conspiracy to derail his programmes in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, Suresh Gopi claimed that more people would be sent to his events with petitions, with the aim of making him reject them.