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P. J. Kurien
P. J. Kurien
11th Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
	In office; 21 August 2012 – 1 July 2018
Preceded by	K. Rahman Khan, INC
Succeeded by	Harivansh Narayan Singh, JD(U)
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
	In office; 2 July 2006 – 1 July 2018
Succeeded by	Binoy Viswam, CPI
Constituency	Kerala
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
	In office; 1989–1999
Preceded by	Thampan Thomas
Succeeded by	Ramesh Chennithala
Constituency	Mavelikara
	In office; 1984–1989
Preceded by	M. M. Lawrence
Succeeded by	K. M. Matthew
Constituency	Idukki
	In office; 1980–1984
Preceded by	B. K. Nair
Succeeded by	Thampan Thomas
Constituency	Mavelikara
Personal details
Born	31 March 1941 (age 83); Vennikulam, Travancore; (now in Kerala, India)
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Susan
Alma mater	St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry; Government Science College, Rewa

Pallath Joseph Kurien (born 28 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.

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2005.

Early life

P. J. Kurien was born on 28 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

^ "Congress leader PJ Kurien elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
^ Parsai, Gargi (22 August 2012). "P.J. Kurien is Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman". The Hindu.
^ "Biodata on the Rajya Sabha website". Retrieved 29 May 2013.
^ "P J Kurien". India.gov.in.
^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Kurien on why he shouldn't be re-investigated in rape case". YouTube. 4 February 2013.
^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Suryanelli victim demands P J Kurien be included in the list of accused". YouTube. 31 January 2013.
^ "Suryanelli sex scandal: Breather for PJ Kurien as convict retracts claim". 29 May 2013.
^ "Suryanelli rape case: Kerala High Court rejects petition against PJ Kurien".
^ "'Is Suryanelli rape the most key issue for Kerala now?'".
^ "Will PJ Kurien be made an accused in the Suryanelli rape case? Court order likely today".
^ "Suryanelli: Victim's plea against Kurien dismissed". The Hindu. 29 June 2013.
^ "Suryanelli sex scandal: Breather for PJ Kurien as convict retracts claim". 29 May 2013.
^ "Suryanelli gangrape case: P.J. Kurien alleges political conspiracy against him". 8 February 2013.
^ "Suryanelli gangrape case: Suryanelli rape case: Court rejects girl's plea against P J Kurien | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 2 March 2013.
^ "Pressure mounts on P.J. Kurien to quit in Suryanelli rape case". 7 February 2013.

External links

Lok Sabha
Preceded by B. K. Nair	Member of Parliament for Mavelikara 1980 – 1984	Succeeded by Thampan Thomas
Preceded by M. M. Lawrence	Member of Parliament for Idukki 1984 – 1989	Succeeded by Pala K. M. Matthew
Preceded by Thampan Thomas	Member of Parliament for Mavelikara 1989 – 1999	Succeeded by Ramesh Chennithala
Political offices
Preceded by K Rahman Khan	Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha 2012–2018	Succeeded by Harivansh Narayan Singh