New Delhi: Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and Congress veteran AK Antony, joined the BJP on Thursday.
He had stepped down from all positions within the Congress in January, following a tweet in which he criticized the contentious BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which caused a stir within the party.
Union ministers Piyush Goyal, V Muraleedharan and BJPs Kerala unit chief K Surendran accorded a warm welcome to the former Congress leader to their party at a formal event.
Shri @anilkantony joins BJP in presence of Shri @PiyushGoyal at party headquarters in New Delhi. #JoinBJP https://t.co/yQXskBy8JM
BJP (@BJP4India) April 6, 2023
Anil Antony headed the Congresss social media wing in Kerala before ditching the party following the controversy over the BBC documentary.
Anil had strongly criticized the BBC documentary, which provides a visceral view of Prime Minister Narendra Modis alleged involvement in the Gujarat riots. He had accused the documentary of being biased against India, and its contents of being prejudiced.
Anil Antony had objected to the documentary and stated that giving more importance to the opinions of a foreign broadcaster like BBC over the institutions in India would harm the countrys independence and self-rule. He believed that this would undermine Indias sovereignty and that it was necessary to prioritize the perspectives and interests of Indian institutions.
He took to Twitter and wrote, Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in placing views of BBC, a state sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices,and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over institutions is setting a dangerous precedence,will undermine our sovereignty.
I have resigned from my roles in @incindia @INCKerala.Intolerant calls to retract a tweet,by those fighting for free speech.I refused. @facebook wall of hate/abuses by ones supporting a trek to promote love! Hypocrisy thy name is! Life goes on. Redacted resignation letter below. pic.twitter.com/0i8QpNIoXW
Anil K Antony (@anilkantony) January 25, 2023
In his resignation letter, Anil took a jibe at some of his colleagues and mentioned, I am sure that I have my own unique strengths which could have enabled me to contribute very effectively to the party in several ways. However, by now I have been made well aware that you, your colleagues, and the coterie around the leadership are only keen to work with a bunch of sycophants and chamchas, who would unquestionably be at your beck and call. This has become the lone criterion of merit. Sadly, we dont have much common ground.
