Kerala Member of Parliament A P Abdullakutty, who was suspended from the Communist Party of India-Marxist for praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's development models, is now preparing to join the Territorial Army (TA).
Abdullakutty, a second term Member of Parliament from Kannur, is readying himself to take the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview to become eligible to don the Army's Olive Greens.
If the CPM MP clears the SSB, he will be the next big name to join the TA in recent times, with former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev who joined the force late last year,
Defence Ministry sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Abdullakutty will join in the rank of Lieutenant when he is commissioned into the TA.
"In fact, he was informed that as an MP he would receive the due respects from TA officers. But once he joins TA as Lieutenant, he would have to salute his seniors. Abdullakutty was more than willing to do so," a TA officer said.
A law graduate from Trivananthapuram, Abdullakutty was a practicing advocate and first won the Lok Sabha polls in 1999. He was re-elected to the same seat in 2004.
Abdullakutty will be one among serving MPs, who have been uniformed TA officers. Former Information and Broadcasting Minister K P Singh Deo and BJP MP from Rajasthan Manvendra Singh are among the most prominent of TA officers.
The CPI-M had suspended Abdullakutty on January 17 after he suggested at a media meet in Dubai that his party should follow Modi's development models in the states they rule.