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Alphons Kannanthanam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kannanthanam Joseph "K.J." Alphons, I.A.S. (born

8 August 1953) is an Indian civil servant, advocate, and Alphons Kannanthanam
politician. He is currently serving as the Union Minister
of Electronics and Information Technology, Culture,
and Tourism since 3 September 2017 under the BJP
Government of Narendra Modi. He is the 2nd BJP
Central Minister from Kerala in history after
O.Rajagopal.He is a retired civil servant. He belongs to
the 1979 batch of the IAS, Kerala cadre. He was in
Time Magazine's list of 100 Young Global Leaders. He Minister of State Electronics and Information
pioneered the literacy movement in India by making Technology
Kottayam the first 100% literate town in India in 1989.
As Commissioner of DDA, he demolished 14,310 Incumbent
illegal buildings in Delhi. Assumed office
3 September 2017
Alphons was born in Manimala, Kottayam district,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Kerala, India, and was a Left Front independent
Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) for Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Kanjirappally in Kottayam District, Kerala from 2006 Culture and Tourism
to 2011.[4] He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Incumbent
in 2011 and is a member of the BJP National
Assumed office
Executive.
3 September 2017
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Contents Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly

In office
1 Early life 20062011
2 Career Constituency Kanjirappally
3 References
4 External links Personal details
Born 8 August 1953
Kottayam, Kerala, India

Early life Political party Bharatiya Janata Party[1][2]

Spouse(s) Sheela[3]
Alphons Kannanthanam was born in Manimala,
Children 2 sons
Kottayam District, to K.V.Joseph and Brijith Joseph.
His father was a World War II veteran who became a Website www.alphonskannanthanam.com
school teacher after the war. His parents had nine (http://www.alphonskannanthanam.com/)
children; they adopted two more from the orphanage.

Kannanthanam received his early education in Malayalam medium village schools near his place of birth. He
completed his masters in Economics, and was one of the toppers of the Civil Services Examination in the year
1979. He was the best inter university debater in India for three years, while in the University.

He worked in the Indian Administrative Service until 2006, when he was elected a Member of the Legislative

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Assembly, from Kanjirappally in Kottayam District, Kerala with the support of Communist Party of India
(Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF). He is also a practicing advocate in the High court and the Supreme
Court of India.

Career
Alphons Kannanthanam first came into prominence when he served as the district collector of Kottayam in
1988. He drove the literacy movement in the state and helped to make Kottayam town as the first 100% literate
town in India in 1989.

His national profile rose when, as the Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority from , he demolished
illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crores.[5] These actions earned him the title,
The Demolition Man.[6] Times of India survey showed that 89.6% of Delhiites supported his action, the highest
rating for any public official any time.[7] The action also listed him in Time Magazine's 100 young global
leaders in 1994 (cover story-5th Dec, 1994).[8]

In 2006, he resigned from the IAS and entered politics by becoming an LDF supported independent Member of
the Legislative Assembly from Kanjirappally.[9]

On 24 March 2011, Alphons joined the BJP in the presence of party president Nitin Gadkari, after having
resigned from his assembly seat a couple of hours prior.[10]

He has been appointed as a Member of Committee constituted by Government of India on 26 June 2017 to
prepare the final draft of National Education Policy [11]

In a cabinet reshuffle on 3 September 2017, he was appointed as minister of state in the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology and minister of State (independent charges) of the Ministry of Tourism.[12]

References

1. "Kerala BJP leader Alphons Kannanthanam could become Chandigarh administrator"

(http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/kerala-bjp-leader-alphons-kannanthanam-
appointed-administrator-of-chandigarh/). The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
2. "BJP accords reception to Alphons Kannanthanam" (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national
/BJP-accords-reception-to-Alphons-Kannanthanam/article14963687.ece#!). The Hindu. Retrieved
25 April 2017.
3. [1] (http://www.niyamasabha.org/codes/members/alphonskanamthanam.pdf)
4. Kerala Members of Legislative Assembly (http://www.kerala.gov.in/government/mla.htm) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20100130012529/http://www.kerala.gov.in/government/mla.htm)
2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine.
5. http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-in-conversation-with-demolition-man-kj-alphons
/20110323.htm
6. Demolition Man (http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/full_story.php?content_id=89394)
7. Achievements (http://www.alphonskannanthanam.com/achievements.html)
8. Time Magazine's Young Leaders (http://www.alphonskannanthanam.com/media.html)
9. Kerala Assembly Election Results, 2006 (http://keralaassembly.org/winner06.html)
10. http://www.rediff.com/news/report/former-ias-officer-kj-alphons-joins-bjp/20110324.htm

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11. "Government constitutes a committee to prepare the final draft of National Education Policy"
(http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=166900). pib.nic.in. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
12. "Cabinet reshuffle: Alphons Kannanthanam appointed a MoS in ministry of IT"
(http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cabinet-reshuffle-alphons-kannanthanam-
appointed-a-mos-in-ministry-of-it/articleshow/60348637.cms). The Economic Times. 3 September 2017.
Retrieved 3 September 2017.

External links
Official website (http://www.alphonskannanthanam.com/)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alphons_Kannanthanam&oldid=798925909"

This page was last edited on 4 September 2017, at 16:31.

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