The Congress expelled senior Kerala leader AP Abdullakutty from the party on Monday after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election in a Facebook post last week. Abdullakutty had said in his post that Modi follows “Gandhian values”, which led to his win, IANS reported.

Before expelling him, the party had sent the former MLA a show-cause notice on June 1. Mullappally Ramachandran, the president of the Kerala unit of the Congress, said that Abdullakutty had failed to provide a satisfactory response to the notice.

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“His explanation was not acceptable and even after being served a show-cause notice for praising Modi, he continued to criticise the state party leaders,” Ramachandran said in a statement. “Hence for violating party discipline he has been ousted from the Congress party.”

Abdullakutty reportedly told the Congress that he had not praised Modi, but only his vision, according to Mint. “What did I do wrong?” he told reporters. “Time will prove I’m right.”

“It is sad news. I expected it from Mullappally Ramachandra,” he told news agency ANI. “I’m not an opportunist. I am a person who took a stand on developmental issues.”

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Abdullakutty, who hails from Kannur district, has reportedly shifted to Mangalore where he is likely to join Bharatiya Janata Party, IANS reported, citing sources. The two-time MLA alleged that Ramachandran had said that there was “no need to even seek an explanation”. He further said that it was clear then that he would be removed from the party.

On May 28, Abdullakutty praised Modi for leading Bharatiya Janata Party to its landmark victory by winning 303 seats in the Lok Sabha. Apart from hailing his “adoption of Gandhian values”, Abdullakutty also praised the projects undertaken by Modi, such as smart cities, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and Ujjwala Yojana.

In 2009, Abdullakutty had also lauded Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. He was a member of Parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) back then. He was suspended from the party, following which he joined the Congress and was elected in the 2011 Kerala Assembly elections.