Ousted Congress leader AP Abdullakutty joins BJP

Kannur, June 26: Expelled Congress leader AP Abdullakutty joined Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.

Abdullakutty had drawn the wrath of the Congress leadership in the State following his May 28 Facebook post in which he compared Modi with Mahatma Gandhi.

He wrote: "Mahatma Gandhi asked public servants...when you formulate a policy remember the poorest man you have ever met in life...Modi accurately executed it [the Gandhian value]."

A two-time CPI(M) MP and two-time Congress MLA, Abdullakutty was previously expelled by the Marxist party for praising Modi as the Gujarat chief minister in 2009.

This time, he praised Modi for adopting Gandhian values.

He also praised the central government programmes launched under Modi in his first term as PM, such as Swachh Bharat Mission and free LPG connection under Ujwala Yojana.

The Congress mouthpiece 'Veekshanam' had criticised Abdullakutty for his statements, describing him as a "migratory bird" and said his behaviour was "completely unacceptable".

"Praising the BJP while being inside Congress is completely unacceptable. Like a migratory bird, Abdullakutty came to Congress from CPI(M) riding on hopes of being in power. He is pinning his hopes on the saffron party to migrate there," Veekshanam said.

Abdullakutty dismissed the allegation and said the newspaper reacted without giving him a chance to explain.