Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader AK Antony on Thursday reacted to his son Anil Antony joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that it was a "very wrong" decision. Expressing his disappointment over his son's decision to join the BJP, AK Antony said it has "hurt" him.
"Anil’s decision to join BJP has hurt me. It is a very wrong decision," AK Antony said.
AK Antony added that "India’s base is unity and religious harmony. After 2014, [the] Modi govt came to power, they’re systematically diluting diversity and secularism. BJP believes only in uniformity, they’re destroying the constitutional values of the country."
AK Antony also clarified that his loyalty will remain with the “Nehru family”. “My loyalty will always be with 'Nehru family'. I will be a Congress worker till I breathe my last,” he said while speaking to the reporters.
In what could be called a setback for the Congress, Anil Antony joined BJP in Delhi on Thursday 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.
Anil Antony also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his induction into the BJP.
Criticising Congress, Anil Antony said many members of the party believe that they have a duty to work for a “particular” family.
“Many of the Congress leaders believe that their duty is to work for a particular family but I believe that my duty is to work for the people. PM Modi has a clear vision to make India a developed country in the next 25 years,” Anil Antony said.
The development comes months after Anil Antony, who was a Kerala Congress Social Media Team Coordinator and resigned from all posts of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee in January following the row over BBC's documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He criticised the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anthony had hit out at the BBC terming it as "a state sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices" against India.
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