In a setback to the Congress, Anil K Antony, the son of former defence minister AK Antony, joined the BJP on Thursday.
Anil K Antony, whose father is considered a trusted lieutenant of the Gandhi family, joined the saffron party in the presence of Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan. Kerala BJP chief K Surendran and senior party leaders Tarun Chugh and Anil Baluni were also present at the occasion. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his induction into BJP.
Antony, who was a Kerala Congress social media team coordinator, had resigned from all posts of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in January following differences with the Congress leadership over BBC’s documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and PM Modi.
He criticised the documentary, terming the BBC as “a state-sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices” against India.
“Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in India placing views of BBC, a UK state-sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over Indian institutions is setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty,” he had tweeted.
Reports from Kerala quoted A K Antony as saying he was pained by his son’s decision. He said he would stand with the Congress till his last breath.