It is often said that one man’s loss is another’s gain and this is exactly what is increasingly being seen in relation to Congress and BJP. More and more disgruntled leaders are choosing to join BJP from various parties with Abdulla Kutty being the latest to dissent to the saffron party. The influential leader from Kerala is all set to join the BJP in a couple of days.
Kutty had met Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Modi in Delhi on Monday. After his meeting, he said, “My meetings with both were fruitful. We discussed many things including the prevailing political situation in Kerala. Both welcomed me to the party and I will formally join the BJP within two days.” He added, “Many educated people from the community feel that my entry will help bridge vacuum between the party and the Muslim community. I also feel we have to shed unnecessary reservations and fears vis-à-vis the BJP.” He also emphasized that Muslims should concentrate more on development and not on petty issues.
Kutty began his political career with the CPM during his college days. After emerging victorious in 1999 and in 2004, his views soon started becoming problematic for the communist party. The party censured him on many occasions and eventually removed him after he appreciated the development model of Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister.
Thereafter, he joined the Congress who readily took him due to his giant killer status. After he won from a Congress ticket in the assembly election in 2009 and 2011, his views started becoming a problem to the Congress party as well. After the result of the Lok Sabha election, the leader took to his Facebook page to express his personal views which were widely criticized by the Congress. He said that PM Modi won the Lok Sabha polls for the second time because he accurately inculcated the “Gandhian values in governance”. He also wrote in the post that under the Swachh Bharat scheme, 9.16 crore families were given their own toilets and under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, six crore families were given free LPG connections. As expected, the Congress was highly perturbed by this and due to this “Modi admiration”, he was removed from the party.
Abdulla Kutty was disheartened by the fact that Congress was unwilling to respect each individual’s opinion. He also felt that the Congress leadership was not willing to listen to the criticism of party workers even after the huge electoral defeat. Deciding never to go back to the Congress, Kutty is now coming into BJP’s fold. He said, “The PM said I had to pay a heavy price for speaking truth. And he congratulated me for sticking to my views.”
Abdulla Kutty is finally coming to a party that fits him ideologically. There is nothing wrong in appreciating the Prime Minister of the country, regardless of the political affiliations and if the grand old party cannot accept that; leaders with independent views have no place there.
