Idukki: Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Thursday took a swipe at Kerala’s General Education Minister V Sivankutty while speaking at his “Kalungu Souhruda Samvadam” programme held at Vattavada in Idukki.

“Let a well-educated education minister come,” Gopi remarked when residents raised a demand for an English-medium school in the area. Though he did not mention Sivankutty by name, Gopi implied that the present General Education Minister—who often targets him in public—cannot be expected to bring about such developments.

His statement quickly gained traction online, drawing a sarcastic response from Sivankutty. Referring to Gopi as “Kalungu Thampuran” — a colloquial expression meaning ‘lord of Kalungu’ — Sivankutty commented that the state had not gained “even the usefulness of a pin” from the Union Minister.

Mocking Gopi’s outreach initiative, he further accused the minister of practising “Kalunkism” as his ideology. The phrase “Kalungu Souhruda Samvadam” derives from the Malayalam word kalunk (culvert), a nod to the distinctive setting of Gopi’s event, which was held atop a culvert.

The union minister also criticised the state government for failing to deliver on its promise of providing houses under the LIFE Mission after rejecting the Centre’s PMAY scheme. “Those who cheat the people should be stopped on the road and questioned,” he said. Suresh Gopi announced that houses would be constructed for 18 families in the Vattavada panchayat. Residents of the backward panchayat raised concerns about the lack of basic infrastructure, including roads, schools, agricultural support, healthcare facilities, and the menace of wild animal attacks.

Before attending the ‘Kalungu Souhruda Samvadam’, Suresh Gopi and his team visited the Kottakampoor home of slain Maharaja’s College student Abhimanyu and met his parents. BJP Idukki North District President P P Sanu, BJP Minority Morcha All-India Vice President Noble Mathew, District General Secretary Alakar Raj, Constituency President P P Murukan, BJP Panchayat President M Ramar, District Secretary Manoj Kumar, District Vice President E K Mohanan, and Vattavada Panchayat Standing Committee Chairman D Kuppuswami were among those present.