November 20, 2023

Alphons Kannanthanam Age, Wife, Family, Biography, & More

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Wife: Sheela Alphons Age: 70 Years Hometown: Manimala

Some Lesser Known Facts About Alphons Kannanthanam

• Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam is a former Indian politician, lawyer, and civil servant. He worked for the government as a civil servant, holding a number of positions, including Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority. He became the second member of the BJP from Kerala to hold a ministry in the central government when he was appointed as the Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism in September 2017.

• Alphons attended Malayalam-medium village schools near Manimala. He studied for a master’s in economics at North Eastern Hill University in Shillong in 1977. In 1996 he finished his LLB at Delhi University while working as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority.

• Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam’s father, K.V. Joseph, was a World War 2 veteran who later became a teacher.

• Alphons spent 27 years in the Indian Administrative Service after being recruited in 1979. He achieved the eighth position in the UPSC exam. In his position as Kottayam’s district collector, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam started a literacy campaign in Kottayam, which resulted in the district becoming the first in the nation to have 100% literacy. Later, other regions of the nation adopted his literacy push strategy. ((Hindustan Times))

• In the 1990s, he was appointed as the Delhi Development Authority commissioner during that time he gained recognition as ‘The Demolition Man’ because he commissioned the demolition of 14,310 illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores.

•  In 1994, he was selected as the 100 Young Global Leaders by Time magazine.

• In 2006, he left his service to pursue a career in politics. In the same year, he was elected to the Kerala assembly as a Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed independent candidate from Kanjirappally, Kerala.

• On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined the BJP after his falling out with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Coming from Kerala’s centre Travancore (a former princely state in southwestern India, now part of Kerala state) Christian belt, he has a solid relationship with the church. His unexpected appointment to the ministry is rumoured to be the BJP’s attempt to win over Kerala’s second-largest minority group, the Christians. In an interview, when he was asked about his reaction to the rumours of the BJP choosing him because of Christian votes, he replied that it is not about Christian votes and said,
  I am an Indian, a very proud Indian. I have a fantastic relationship with members of every community. Even Kanjirappally (from where he got elected as a state legislator in 2006) is not a majority Christian constituency, there are only 20-25% Christians. Hindus, Muslims, Marxists, Congressmen, all of them voted for me. I think the affection for me cuts across party lines, community, caste and all that. Perhaps, it comes from my civil service background. When you are a collector, you are seen as the state person, as somebody who can bring some light into people’s lives, and not really a person belonging to a party or a community.” [6]Mint

• On 26 June 2017, he was appointed as a Member of the Committee constituted by the Government of India to prepare the final draft of the National Education Policy.

• On 3 September 2017, after the cabinet reshuffle, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam was appointed minister of state in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Minister of State (independent charge) of the Ministry of Tourism.

• In November 2017, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam was elected as the Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan, after the position was left vacant by Venkaiah Naidu as he was elected the vice president in August of the same year.

Just filed my nomination to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, the most vibrant State in India. I thank the Hon PM , Amit Shaji and CM Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/kVdnW4VeO6
— Alphons KJ (@alphonstourism) November 6, 2017

• During the 2019 Indian general election, Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam contested as a National Democratic Alliance candidate from the Ernakulam constituency but lost.

• Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam has published many books including Badlav Ke Liye (1998), India Mattathinte Muzhakkam (2016), and Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government (2022). [7]Amazon
  Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam’s book

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