Gopi, who returned to Kerala for the first time after becoming MoS for Tourism and Petroleum, visited the Thali Mahadeva temple in Kozhikode city this morning to pray. 

 Later speaking to reporters, the actor-turned politician said he has a lot of connections with people and temples, and he has taken all that into account. "People from all walks of life supported me. I cannot cut all that away. I have taken up a responsibility. I have reached here with everyone's support," he said. 

Gopi said that it will be the people who will keep him close. As MoS Tourism of India, Gopi said he has a huge responsibility, and his duties would include identifying the prime spots in the country for tourist activities. "For now, the PM has spoken to him only about Kerala," he added. Gopi also refused to respond to any political issues, including Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's "ignorant" remark about a priest and Congress MP M K Raghavan's demand for an AIIMS in Kozhikode, saying that he was not going to be part of any such discussions. 

 Regarding the CM's ignorant remark, he said that it was "his (Vijayan's) tongue, his thinking." 

 "I am not going to question that. They (CM and the priest) are from the same party. They will settle it," he said.

 On Raghavan's AIIMS demand, Gopi said that the Congress MP has every right to make it. "I too have some rights. I have conveyed my rights and desires," he said. Gopi won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat for the BJP, making history for the saffron party in Kerala. -- PTI