Vizhinjam port is a necessity for the State and now that a way has come through for implementing the project, politics should not be allowed to come in between, actor and Chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Suresh Gopi has said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here on Saturday, he said he was not endorsing anyone but that if the State administration could ensure transparency in its implementation, the project should definitely be allowed to go ahead, whoever was the bidder.
He said a lot of discussion was happening amongst the public, that much time had been wasted already in delaying the project. Because of Kerala’s geographic and other peculiarities, big industrial projects could not happen here. “But Vizhinjam is the State’s best bet to emerge from the shadows,” Mr. Gopi said.
Related projects
He said at least 25 other related projects would come to Kerala if the Vizhinjam port took off. He said he only had a two-hour “non-political” discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time ago and that he had not expected anything or asked for anything from him.
On NFDC post
“I was contacted by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MP, through the Pune Film Institute and offered the post in the NFDC. I accepted it for the sake of Kerala and because it is an opportunity for improving the content of Doordarshan,” Mr. Gopi said.
He said it would be his attempt to promote Indian cinema through the NFDC but more than just movie promotion, he wanted it to venture into new business areas and assume new roles.
The NFDC would also make more attempts at revenue generation by promoting India as a prime destination for filmmaking. He also intended to visit other States for promoting movies in other Indian languages.
Fielding questions on his political leanings and whether he would become a member of the BJP, Mr. Gopi said that if an opportunity arose, the Centre would decide on that. He said O. Rajagopal was the ideal candidate to win the Aruvikkara bypoll and that the State could achieve a lot more by way of development, if the BJP won the seat.
He said if the Central leadership of the BJP were to ask him, he would definitely be at the forefront of the election campaign for the party at Aruvikkara.
Organ donation drive
Mr. Gopi also inaugurated the organ donation promotion campaign of the Press Club by handing over the organ donation consent forms of club members to IMA State president Sreejith N. Kumar.
