Kannur (Kerala), Jan 17 (IANS) The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday suspended two-time Lok Sabha member A.P. Abdulla Kutty, who hailed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s development initiatives, from the party for an year.
The decision to suspend Kutty, who represents the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, was taken by the CPI-M’s Mayyil Area Committee.
Kutty’s now-controversial remarks came during an interview he gave to a leading Malayalam TV channel when he was in Dubai to attend a festival there last month.
His suspension was on the cards for some time and it became all the more evident when on Friday he replied to the show cause notice issued to him by Kannur CPI-M district party secretary P. Sasi.
In his reply, the MP said that he only lauded the initiatives of Modi, who played a proactive role in attracting investments and boosting the development of Gujarat, but did not approve of Modi’s communal stand.
Reacting to the report of his suspension, Kutty told reporters he was shocked.
“I am unable to react because I am really shocked by the suspension. I had given a full explanation on what happened and I never ever expected such an action,” he said.
Kutty, a devout Muslim, was a well known supporter of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan from the time the party’s state unit was divided into factions led by him and state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and it was quite certain that Kutty would not be re-nominated for a third term.
However, CPI-M legislator from Kannur, P. Jayarajan, in response to Kutty’s statement that he was shocked, said shock is a treatment given to people for certain ailments.
“Can anyone especially a Communist and one who is a public personality see Modi as a model. He (Kutty) has enough time to correct himself. Right now what has happened is nothing but the way a Communist party acts and this is part of the teaching process that our party has adopted,” he said.