Kerala CM congratulates Kannanthanam; calls him long-term friend

“The joint effort by the Centre and state would make the path for the development easier. I hope that Mr. Kannanthanam will be able to contribute for this”, Mr. Vijayan said.

Alphons Kannanthanam

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulated Alphons Kannanthanam, a bureaucrat-turned-politician from the State, for becoming a minister in the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Vijayan said he expected that the new position would help Mr. Kannanthanam become the State’s voice in the Union cabinet while effectively intervening into national issues as Union Minister. Describing Mr. Kannanthanam as a ‘long-term’ friend, Mr. Vijayan said the ministerial post was an ‘Onam gift’ to him and hoped that it would give him more strength to work for the state.

Congratulations to all newly sworn in central ministers especially long time friend Alphons Kannanthanam; perfect Onam gift for him. pic.twitter.com/82AtFyr9a0

— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) September 3, 2017

 

“The joint effort by the Centre and State would make the path for the development easier. I hope that Mr. Kannanthanam will be able to contribute for this”, Mr. Vijayan said.

Mr. Kannanthanam started his political journey after quitting his IAS career, and successfully contested as a Left independent from the Kanjirappally assembly constituency in 2006.

Though CPI(M) had offered him a ticket to contest in the next assembly polls, he turned down the offer and later joined the BJP.