Suresh Gopi says Brahmin as Minister for Tribal Affairs will bring ‘big change’; withdraws it after facing criticism

Union Minister Suresh Gopi at the Parliament House complex. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Union Minister Suresh Gopi kicked up a controversy on Sunday (February 2, 2025) by stating that an upper caste person should be made the Minister for Tribal Affairs and a person from a backward caste should be made the Minister for empowerment of the upper caste. 

After receiving flak, he later said that he only had “good intentions”, but if people were not satisfied with his explanation, then he is withdrawing his statement.

 While campaigning for the BJP for the Delhi Assembly election in Mayur Vihar of east Delhi, which has a significant population of people from Kerala, Mr. Gopi said, “This is another curse of our country that a non-tribal person cannot be the Minister for Tribal Affairs. It is my wish and dream that an upper caste person should become the tribal affairs minister for the empowerment (of the tribal community). If there is a tribal person, who is supposed to become tribal affairs minister, the person should be made the minister for the empowerment of the upper caste community. This change should happen in our democratic system.”

“Let a Brahmin or Naidu look after affairs of tribals, there will be a big change. I have made this request to Modi ji, but there are certain customs for these things,” he said.

Mr. Gopi also said that since he became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2016, he has been requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he doesn’t want the civil aviation portfolio and to give him the tribal affairs portfolio instead.

After his comments kicked up a controversy, Mr. Gopi clarified on Sunday, “I had said that an upper caste person should come to look after the affairs of tribals and a person from a backward community should look after the problems of the upper caste… I had good intentions only and I only said that we should break away from the current system. But if you think even my explanation is not correct, then I’m withdrawing it. Continue like this only.” 

The Delhi Assembly election is scheduled for February 5 and results will be declared on February 8.