Thrissur, 17 Aug

Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday said there is no need for him to answer to the voters' list manipulation charges raised by the Congress and the Left parties, and that the Election Commission (EC) would give them a reply in this regard.

Gopi said he is a Union Minister, and he is delivering his responsibilities well. While replying to reporters' questions, the BJP leader also called "vanaras" (monkeys) the persons who have raised voters' list manipulation charges against him.

"The Election Commission will give a reply to this (allegations). It is the EC who should answer...I am a minister. I am delivering my duties well. Otherwise, they will get a reply when they take the matter to the Supreme Court," Gopi said.

He said those "vanaras" who have raised the charges could also go there to get answers.

It is for the first time that Gopi was responding to the allegations of voters' list manipulation charges against him and the BJP in connection with the Lok Sabha polls last year.

In the morning, the Union Minister garlanded the statue of the erstwhile ruler of the kingdom of Kochi, Shakthan Thampuran.

The Congress, last week, made fresh allegations against Gopi, accusing him of submitting a false declaration to be included in the voters' list for the Thrissur Lok Sabha Constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress also filed a police complaint against the actor-turned-politician.