| Arackaparambil Kurien Antony അറയ്ക്കപറമ്പില് കുര്യൻ ആന്റണി |
|
|---|---|
| Minister of Defence | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 26 October 2006 |
|
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1985-1995, 2005-present |
|
| Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution | |
| In office 1993–1995 |
|
| Prime Minister | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Chief Minister of Kerala | |
| In office 17 May 2001 – 29 August 2004 |
|
| Governor | Sikander Bakht T. N. Chaturvedi R. L. Bhatia |
| Preceded by | E. K. Nayanar |
| Succeeded by | Oommen Chandy |
| In office 22 March 1995 – 9 May 1996 |
|
| Governor | B. Rachaiah P. Shiv Shankar Khurshed Alam Khan |
| Preceded by | K. Karunakaran |
| Succeeded by | E. K. Nayanar |
| In office 27 April 1977 – 27 October 1978 |
|
| Governor | N. N. Wanchoo Jyothi Vencatachellum |
| Preceded by | K. Karunakaran |
| Succeeded by | P. K. Vasudevan Nair |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 December 1940 Cherthala, British Raj (now India) |
| Political party | Indian National Congress (Before 1978; 1982–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Indian National Congress-Urs (1978–1980) Indian National Congress-A (1980–1982) |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Antony |
| Alma mater | Maharaja's College Mahatma Gandhi University |
| Religion | Atheist;[1] devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi[2][3] |
Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born on December 28, 1940) is an Indian National Congress politician, a former Chief Minister of Kerala, and the current Defence Minister of India.
He is a member of the Central Election Committee and the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee of the All India Congress Committee. He is currently a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Accommodation, Economic Affairs, Political Affairs, and Security.[4] He also presently serves as President of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.[5]
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A. K. Antony was born at Cherthala, near Alleppey in Travancore, as the son of Arackaparambil Kurien Pillai and Elikutty.[6] He lost his father in 1959 and self-financed part of his education through odd jobs.[7]
He completed his primary education in Holy Family Boys High school (Lower primary) and Government Boys High school (Upper primary), Cherthala (both are mixed higher secondary schools now and the latter has changed its name to Sree Narayana Memorial Government Higher Secondary school) and completed his Bachelor of Arts from Maharajas College and Bachelor of Law from Mahatma Gandhi University.[8]
From years 1964-1965 he was the editor of the Kalasala, a Malayalam weekly and from years 1978-1982 he was the editor and publisher of Veekshanam, a Malayalam daily.[9]
A. K. Antony entered into politics as a student leader in Cherthala Taluk (Alleppey District) as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU) under the guidance of M. A. John.[10] He has been an active leader of many strikes like Oru Ana Samaram (Single Penny Strike). He served as the president of Kerala Students Union, Indian Youth Congress and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) before becoming an All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in 1984. When he became KPCC president in 1972 he was the youngest person to hold that post. He was elected again as KPCC president in 1987, and was defeated by Vayalar Ravi in the KPCC presidential elections in 1991.
Congress (A) was a political party founded by Antony when he split from the Indian National Congress (Urs) a splinter group of the Indian National Congress (and opposed Indira Gandhi in inner party politics during the time when she was prosecuted by the Morarji Desai government, splitting off from the parent party with Devraj Urs.) The party was primarily active in Kerala and joined the LDF ministry headed by E. K. Nayanar during 1980-1982. After the fall of the Nayanar ministry, this party merged with the Congress in 1982, but Antony was not given any office until the death of Indira Gandhi. The members of the party have continued as a faction in the local congress afterwards.
On accusations in the Rajan case, K. Karunakaran resigned and Antony was made the 8th Chief Minister of Kerala. Antony thus became the youngest Chief Minister of the state at the age of 37 serving from years April 27, 1977 to October 27, 1978.
Again, when K. Karunakaran resigned in connection with the ISRO case Antony was made the 16th Chief Minister of Kerala serving from years March 22, 1995 to May 9, 1996. He was the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly during 1996 to 2001.
Antony was elected the 18th Chief Minister of Kerala and served the third term from May 17, 2001 to August 29, 2004. He failed to retain power on the first two occasions as Chief minister. In 2004, immediately after the Congress in Kerala suffered a total rout in the Lok Sabha elections amid factional politics and in-fighting within the Congress Party, Antony resigned as the Chief Minister of Kerala. He was succeeded by Oommen Chandy.
It was at his behest that the decision to construct the new Legislature Complex was taken in 1977. During his tenure, he introduced the Unemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the State Employees, Prohibition of arrack and the steps initiated to revive the economy of Kerala. He also took bold initiatives in the field of Higher Education, Science & Technology, Bio-Technology, Information Technology and other related areas.[11]
He was a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha between 1985 and 1995 and was the Minister for Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution for a year in 1994 during the tenure of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. He resigned on moral grounds as food minister in 1994 when his ministry was involved in a sugar import scandal, despite there being no allegations against him.[12]
In 2005, A. K. Antony entered the Rajya Sabha and was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers as Defence Minister following Natwar Singh's expulsion from the Congress and Pranab Mukherjee's transfer to the Ministry of External Affairs. After the Congress again won the elections in 2009 and formed the government once again under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Antony retained the portfolio of Defence for the second term.
In Sukna land scandal, then Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor toned down the action against one his key aides, Lieutenant-General Avadesh Prakash who is one of the seniormost officers of the Army, against the recommendations of the Eastern Army Commander who had ordered the probe.[13]
After an outcry over the perceived “letting off” of a senior officer in the case, who incidentally retired. Antony intervened and directed the Army Chief to order a court martial to bring out the facts of the case.[14][15]
After Adarsh Housing Society Scam in Mumbai, A K Antony recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe to fix responsibility of the armed forces and defence estates officers.[16] He also stated that under his supervision as defence minister of India, his ministry will not cover up the Adarsh Housing Society scam, but initiate "strict" action against those guilty though top armed forces officers, bureaucrats and politicians were allegedly involved in it.[17][18]
He is married to Elizabeth Antony, a Syrian Orthodox, and they have two sons named Anil Kurien Antony and Ajith Paul Antony.
A. K. Antony was born into a Syrian Catholic family. He is an atheist[1] and has always assumed office by affirmation rather than by a religious oath.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kannoth Karunakaran |
Chief Minister of Kerala 1977–1978 |
Succeeded by Padayatt Kesavapillai Vasudevan Nair |
| Chief Minister of Kerala 1995–1996 |
Succeeded by Erambala Krishnan Nayanar |
|
| Preceded by Erambala Krishnan Nayanar |
Chief Minister of Kerala 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Oommen Chandy |
| Preceded by |
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 1993–1995 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Pranab Mukherjee |
Minister of Defence 2006–present |
Incumbent |