P. C. George

Plathottathil Chacko George (born 28 August 1951) is an Indian politician.[2] George is a seven-time and ex Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) of the Poonjar constituency in the Kottayam district of Kerala state (1982 to 1987) and (1996 to 2022). He was in the Kerala Legislative Assembly for 33 years. After the legislative election 2016, he created his own party named as Kerala Janapaksham (Secular). Formerly, he was the member of political parties like Kerala Congress, Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Mani) and Kerala Congress (Secular).

For the communist leader, see K. C. George.

In this Indian name, the name Plathottathil Chacko is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, George or P.C George.
P. C. George
Chief Whip of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
18 May 2011 (2011-05-18) – 7 April 2015 (2015-04-07)
Succeeded byThomas Unniyadan
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
20 May 1996 (1996-05-20) – 2 May 2022
Preceded byJoy Abraham
Succeeded bySebastian Kulathunkal
ConstituencyPoonjar
In office
1980 (1980)–1987 (1987)
Preceded byV. J. Joseph
Succeeded byN. M. Joseph
ConstituencyPoonjar
Personal details
Born (1951-08-28) 28 August 1951
Aruvithura, Erattupetta, Kottayam, State of Travancore–Cochin (present day Kerala), India
Spouse
Usha George
​
(m. 1981)​
Children2
RelativesJagathy Sreekumar, Nathan Joseph Tony
Alma materSacred Heart College, Thevara[1]
Source:

George served as the Chief Whip of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2015, under Kerala Congress (M) party of the UDF government. George later became an independent politician. In 2017, he formed the party Kerala Janapaksham (Secular).[3] Prior to the 2019 Indian general election, his party joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).[4]

Personal life

George married Usha George on 25 January 1981 and has two sons Shaun and Shane. One of his sons, Shaun, is married to Parvathy,[5] daughter of veteran actor Jagathy Sreekumar.

Political career

His political career started through students' movement. He was Ernakulam District President of K.S.C. (1971–73); General Secretary of K.S.C. (1973–76). He was elected as MLA from poonjar in 1980 Kerala congress LDF candidate He was arrested several times in connection with students agitations. He was Chairman of the Petitions Committee of the Legislative Assembly for seven and a half years. He was Chairman of the Subordinate Legislation Committee for two and a half years; Chairman of the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table for two and a half years. He was General Secretary, Kerala Congress; and Party leader of Kerala Congress (Secular) (2003–2010). He served as K.S.R.T.C. Board Member for ten years. He was elected to the Niyamasabha in 1981, 1982, 1996, 2001 and 2006, all from Poonjar constituency.

He was the incumbent MLA from Poonjar constituency in Kottayam District of Kerala until 2021.[6] George was also vice-chairman of Kerala Congress (M),[7] a splinter faction of Kerala Congress. The splinter groups of Kerala Congress are known for frequent splits and mergers. PC George was formerly a leader of the Kerala Congress (J) party and was critical of K.M. Mani, the leader of Kerala Congress (M). Later PC George quit the Joseph group and formed his own group and named it "Kerala Congress (secular)". Recently, PC George merged his group with K.M Mani's faction. Before joining Kerala Congress (M) his party was affiliated with the LDF.

P.C. George served as the Chief Whip, Government of Kerala in the UDF Government from 2011, until he was removed from the post on 7 April 2015. This removal was triggered based on the fights within the Kerala Congress (M), spurred due to the bar scam allegations on K M Mani.

After these dramatic incidents, PC George made a huge comeback in the 2016 panchayat elections and was looking forward to the upcoming Assembly election. Just before the election, PC George was removed from "Kerala Congress (M)" party. And hence he decides to face the election without the support of any parties and to compete in the election as independent candidate. It was a fight unlike anything seen in this elections in the district: One man against the three major political formations. In the end, P.C. George came out victorious in style with a thumping margin of 27,821 votes. Mr. George was ousted from both the LDF and the UDF and even dubbed as the man leaders loved to hate. He was a marked man by CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan and hated by K.M. Mani, P.J. Joseph, and even Oommen Chandy. Though he expected the Left to take him back, it was not to be so. In fact, during the protracted campaign period, Mr. Vijayan had personally visited Poonjar twice to ensure that Mr. George was defeated. However, it appears that his major success was in operating a major split in the local unit of the CPI(M) and the UDF. In 2011, the LDF Independent Mohan Thomas received 44,105 votes. This time, LDF candidate P.C. Joseph could only muster just half the votes at 22,270 votes. Mr. George, in fact, raised his vote share from 59,809 in 2011 to 63,621. The UDF share came down to 35,800.[8]

On 10 April 2019, Kerala Janapaksham, led by PC George joined the NDA.[9]

Electoral victories of P. C. George
YearClosest rivalPolitical PartyVotes polled
1980V. J. Joseph KEC[10] 25,806
1982N. M. Joseph JNP[11] 33,844
1996Joy Abraham KEC-M[12] 48,834
2001Adv. T. V. Abraham KEC-M[13] 48,499
2006Adv. Abraham Kaipanplackal KEC-M[14] 48,795
2011Adv. Mohan Thomas Independent[15] 59,809
2016Georgekutty Augusty Kerala Congress (M)[16] 63,621

Controversies

George has been strongly criticized for his derogatory comments against women. He was summoned by the women's commission for his derogatory reference about a Catholic nun, who was a victim of rape.[17]

George got into a controversy when he demanded that India should be declared as a Hindu nation.[18]

George is also highly controversial as he was arrested and is dealing with two cases of hate speech towards the Muslim community as of May 2022.[19]

On 2 July 2022, George was arrested for sexual assault complaint filed by an accused in the solar panel case.[20] A new case has now been registered against him for insulting a woman journalist in July 2022.[21]

Filmography

References
  1. "Deepika Kochi". Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. Philip, Shaju (5 April 2013). "Kerala's P C George, 'uncut and uncensored'". Indian Express.
  3. "P C George's new party officially launched". The Times of India. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  4. "P.C. George's Kerala Janapaksham Secular joins NDA". Business Standard. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  5. "Parvathy weds Shaun". Manorama Online. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. "Movie mania for Kerala politicos". CNN-IBN. 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  7. "UDF fails to take stand on Kerala Congress merger". Sify. 30 May 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  8. P.C. George proves himself right. The Hindu. Retrieved on 16 September 2018.
  9. "വാക്കുമാറ്റി ഒടുവില്‍ ജോര്‍ജ് എന്‍ഡിഎയില്‍; 'തിരുവനന്തപുരത്തും ബിജെപി ജയിക്കും'" [Finally, George is in the NDA 'Trivandrum'] (in Malayalam). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  10. "Poonjar Election results 1980". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  11. "Poonjar Election results 1982". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. "Poonjar Election results 1996". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  13. "Poonjar Election results 2001". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. "Poonjar Election results 2006". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  15. "Poonjar Election result 2011". Empowering India. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  16. POONJAR assembly election result 2016 live, POONJAR vidhan sabha Election date 2016, POONJAR opinion/exit poll 2016, POONJAR election contesting candidate list. Infoelections.com (27 May 2016). Retrieved on 2018-09-16.
  17. "Kerala Nun Rape: NCW summons MLA over 'prostitute' remark". DNA India. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  18. "Kerala MLA calls to declare India Hindu rashtra, stokes controversy | City - Times of India He was arrested on May 1, 2022 for inciting communal violence and for spreading hate speech. Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  19. "[BREAKING] PC George granted bail by Kerala High Court in hate speech case | Giti Pratap - barandbench The Kerala High Court on Friday granted bail to former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) PC Geroge in the two separate hate speech cases registered against him for making communal remarks against Muslim community [PC George v State of Kerala] Videos". Bar and Bench.
  20. Rajiv G. (2 July 2022). "Senior Kerala politician P C George arrested for sexual harassment | Thiruvananthapuram News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  21. "PC George slapped with fresh case for insulting woman journalist".
  22. "PC George to play the role of a Police Commissioner - Times of India". The Times of India.
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