A. P. Abdullakutty
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1999 (1999)–2009 (2009)
Preceded byMullappally Ramachandran
Succeeded byK. Sudhakaran
ConstituencyKannur
Member of the Legislative Assembly
In office
2009 (2009)–2016 (2016)
Preceded byK. Sudhakaran
Succeeded byKadannappalli Ramachandran
ConstituencyKannur
National Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party
Assumed office
26 September 2020 (2020-09-26)
PresidentJ. P. Nadda
Personal details
Born (1968-05-08) 8 May 1968 (age 55)[1]
Kannur, Kerala, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
(since 2019)
Spouse
Dr. V. N. Rosina
​
(m. 2000)​
[1]
Children2
Alma materS. N. College, Kannur[1]

Aruvanpalli Puthiyapurakkal Abdullakkutty (born 8 May 1967) is an Indian politician. He was elected as the National Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party on 26 September 2020. He has also served as the BJP Vice President of Kerala state.[2][3] He is also a former member of Lok Sabha from Kannur and former MLA from Kannur constituency of Kerala state.

Early life and politics

He was a leader during his college days, Abdullakutty became the General Secretary of Calicut University Students' Union in 1989. He served as Member of the Kannur District Panchayat from 1995 to 1999. He was elected to Parliament from Kannur Lok Sabha constituency twice (1999–2009) and was one of the youngest MPs of the country during that time. In 2008,[4] he praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,[5][6] and was expelled from CPI(M) in 2009.[7] He subsequently joined Indian National Congress.[7] He represented the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency of Kerala in the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha (two terms) and was a Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2009 to 2016.

During May 2019, in a Facebook post, Abdullakutty praised some of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's schemes, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission (cleanliness drive), and the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for free LPG connection.[8] He added that the "NDA's victory was an acceptance of Prime Minister Modi's development agenda and the secret of his success was that he adopted Gandhian values",[8] and further stated that "Through 'Swacchhta Bharat' PM gave toilets to 9.26 crore families, also gave free LPG connections to six crore families." After Abdullakutty's favorable appraisal of the prime minister, he was expelled from his party, the Indian National Congress (INC) in June 2019.

After a meeting with Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on 24 June 2019, Abdullakutty was invited to join the BJP, and he formally joined BJP on 26 June 2019.[9] Abdullakutty received the BJP membership from party working president J. P. Nadda, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel, Bhupender Yadav, Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha and National General Secretary of the BJP, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP (Upper house) and the vice-chairman of the Kerala wing of Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was among those present to greet him. He contested as NDA candidate in 2021 Malappuram Lok Sabha by-election against IUML Candidate M P AbduSamad Samadani and SFI national president VP Sanu and lost in a big margin.[10]

Controversies

On 17 January 2009, CPI(M) Mayyil Area committee suspended Abdullakutty from the party for one year for praising the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat development model.[11][12]

On 11 March 2014, Kerala Police registered an FIR against Kannur MLA AP Abdullakutty on rape charges based on the complaint filed by solar scam accused Saritha S Nair on Monday. In her complaint Saritha Nair alleged that she was raped by Abdullakutty at Mascot hotel in Thiruvananthapuram prior to her arrest in the solar scam. Cantonment women's police in Thiruvananthapuram said that no date or time of the incident is mentioned in her complaint.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Abdullakutty, Shri A.P." Biographical Sketch Member of Parliament 14th Lok Sabha. Archived from the original on 23 June 2006.
  2. ^ "Former Congress MLA AP Abdullakutty made Kerala BJP vice-president". The New Indian Express.
  3. ^ "Kerala leader Abdullakutty named BJP national vice president, Vadakkan gets spokesperson post". The New Indian Express.
  4. ^ "MP calls Modi's development initiatives praiseworthy". ZeeNews.com. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Now, Abdullakutty hails Modi, wants Kerala to follow his example". The Indian Express. 30 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Abdullakutty finds out CPM is not India Inc". The Economic Times. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b "A P Abdullakutty to join BJP". Keralakaumudi Daily. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Congress expels Abdullakutty for praising PM Modi". The Times of India. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Kerala Congress MLA AP Abdullakutty meets PM Modi and Amit Shah; to join BJP soon". The Times of India.
  10. ^ "AP Abdullakutty is BJP candidate for Malappuram bypoll, CPM likely to name VP Sanu". The Indian Express. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  11. ^ "CPM suspends MP Abdullakutty for praising Modi". IBNLive. 17 January 2009.
  12. ^ "Expelled by CPM, Congress for 'pro-Modi views', Kerala leader joins BJP". 26 June 2019.
  13. ^ Binduraj, J. (11 March 2014). "FIR filed against Kannur MLA based on rape charges by Saritha S Nair". India Today. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  14. ^ "CBI Takes Over Solar Scam Probe, Case Against Top Kerala Congress Leaders". NDTV. 17 August 2021.

External links

Members of the 13th Lok Sabha from Kerala State
Members of the 14th Lok Sabha from Kerala State
Bharatiya Janata Party
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