P. J. Kurien

Pallath Joseph Kurien (born 31 March 1941) is an Indian politician, a social worker and educationist. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, till his retirement on 30 June 2018.[1][2] A leader of the Indian National Congress party, Kurien previously served as a Union Minister in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government and was a member of the Lok Sabha for four consecutive terms from 1980 to 1999.

For the IAS officer, see V. J. Kurien.

P. J. Kurien
11th Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
In office
21 August 2012 – 1 July 2018
Preceded byK. Rahman Khan, INC
Succeeded byHarivansh Narayan Singh, JD(U)
MP of Rajya Sabha for Kerala
In office
2 July 2006 – 1 July 2018
Succeeded byBinoy Viswam, CPI
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1989–1999
Preceded byThampan Thomas
Succeeded byRamesh Chennithala
ConstituencyMavelikara
In office
1984–1989
Preceded byM. M. Lawrence
Succeeded byK. M. Matthew
ConstituencyIdukki
In office
1980–1984
Preceded byB. K. Nair
Succeeded byThampan Thomas
ConstituencyMavelikara
Personal details
Born (1941-03-31) 31 March 1941
Vennikulam, Travancore
(now in Kerala, India)
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseSusan
Alma materSt. Thomas College, Kozhencherry
Government Science College, Rewa
In this Indian name, the name Pallath Joseph is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Kurien.

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2005.

Early life

P. J. Kurien was born on 31 March 1941 to P. G. Joseph and Rachel Joseph at Vennikulam in Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala. He had his early education at St. Behanas High School, Vennikulam. For higher education, he attended St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry, Kerala and at Government Science College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. He was a professor of physics at St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry, when he entered politics.[3]

Positions held
  • 1980-84 Member, Seventh Lok Sabha.[4]
  • 1984-89 Member, Eighth Lok Sabha.
  • 1987-89 Member, Executive, Congress Parliamentary Party [C.P.P.(I)], Member, House Committee, Member, Committee on Public Undertakings.
  • 1989-91 Member, Ninth Lok Sabha, Chief Whip, Congress Parliamentary Party, Member of the Business Advisory Committee.
  • 1991-96 Member, Tenth Lok Sabha.
  • 1991-93 Union Minister of State, Industry with additional charge of Commerce.
  • 1992-93 Union Minister of State, Industry,(Department of Small Scale, Agro and Rural Industries) with additional charge of Commerce.
  • 1994-98 Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
  • 1995-96 Union Minister of State, Non-Conventional Energy Sources.
  • 1996-98 Member, Eleventh Lok Sabha, Member of the Business Advisory Committee.
  • 1998-99 Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha, Chief Whip, Congress Parliamentary Party, Member, Business Advisory Committee, Jan.
  • July 2005 Elected to Rajya Sabha
  • August 2012 Elected Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Controversy

Kurien was alleged to be an accused in the Suryanelli rape case, though his name was never included in the list of accused.[5][6] There are four inquiries which exonerated Kurien, three inquiries were held under the Chief Ministership of E. K. Nayanar, who himself used the allegation against Kurien during 1996 elections, and was also a respondent in the defamation case filed by Kurien. During these three inquiries, Kurien was only an opposition MP; Congress Party being out of power both at the Centre and in Kerala.[7] Kurien has maintained his innocence and police investigations into the case have also deemed him innocent.[8] There are speculations such as the alleged controversy against Kurien is politically motivated and his political power even led to the exoneration.[9][10] Sessions Judge Abraham Mathew in his order held that the victim's plea for inclusion of Kurien in the sex scandal case was not maintainable.[11][12][13][14][15]

References
  1. "Congress leader PJ Kurien elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman". Economic Times.
  2. Parsai, Gargi (22 August 2012). "P.J. Kurien is Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman". The Hindu.
  3. "Biodata on the Rajya Sabha website". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  4. "P J Kurien". India.gov.in.
  5. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Kurien on why he shouldn't be re-investigated in rape case". YouTube.
  6. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Suryanelli victim demands P J Kurien be included in the list of accused". YouTube.
  7. "Suryanelli sex scandal: Breather for PJ Kurien as convict retracts claim". 29 May 2013.
  8. "Suryanelli rape case: Kerala High Court rejects petition against PJ Kurien".
  9. "'Is Suryanelli rape the most key issue for Kerala now?'".
  10. "Will PJ Kurien be made an accused in the Suryanelli rape case? Court order likely today".
  11. "Suryanelli: Victim's plea against Kurien dismissed". The Hindu. 29 June 2013.
  12. "Suryanelli sex scandal: Breather for PJ Kurien as convict retracts claim". 29 May 2013.
  13. "Suryanelli gangrape case: P.J. Kurien alleges political conspiracy against him".
  14. "Suryanelli gangrape case: Suryanelli rape case: Court rejects girl's plea against P J Kurien | India News - Times of India".
  15. "Pressure mounts on P.J. Kurien to quit in Suryanelli rape case".
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