KANNUR: The Facebook post of Congress leader A P Abdullakutty, comparing Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi to Mahatma Gandhi, has put himself in a spot and caused major embarrassment to the party leadership, with various leaders and workers expressing their displeasure. Though Kannur DCC president Satheeshan Pacheni declined to comment on the issue — leaving the matter to the state leadership’s consideration — the party seems to have taken it seriously. In his post, Abdullakutty termed Modi’s victory marvellous and said it was proof of his administrative skills and development agenda. He said the implementation of Gandhian values made Modi the darling of the masses.
“The political scene is undergoing a change. From now, victory will be for people who go with the development agenda,” said the post, which appeared on Facebook late Monday night.This is not the first instance where Abdullakutty’s comments have irked the party’s leaders.
In March, 2009, the former CPM MP was ousted from the party for praising Modi, then Gujarat Chief Minister, as well as Delhi CM Sheila Dixit for the progress they achieved. At a reception given by non-resident Indians, Abdullakutty had also said Kerala was not an investor-friendly state owing to intermittent hartals and bandhs organised by political parties.Soon after, Abdullakutty was suspended from the CPM Mayyil area committee for a year. On March 7, 2009, his primary membership was revoked.
In April that year, Abdullakutty joined the Congress.He contested and won from the Kannur seat in the 2009 Assembly byelection, a feat he repeated in the 2011 Assembly polls. However, after a falling out with the Congress leadership, he was asked to contest from Thalassery instead of Kannur in 2016. The Congress lost both seats.
No ticket
Abdullakutty’s name had figured in the earlier rounds of discussion on candidates for the latest Lok Sabha elections.However, he was not given a ticket. Peeved at not being considered for either Vadakara or Kasaragod, Abdullakutty conveyed his displeasure to the party leadership. He was also sidelined by the district leadership during the campaign.