Anil Antony, son of Congress leader AK Antony, joined BJP today.
New Delhi:
Anil Antony, son of Congress leader and former Union Minister AK Antony, today joined BJP.
Anil Antony, who was a Congress leader from Kerala, quit the party in January following a controversy over the 2002 Gujarat riots and a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
BJP leaders Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan and party’s Kerala unit chief K Surendran today welcomed the former Congress leader into their party at a formal function.
“Every Congress worker believes they are working for a family. But I believe I am working for the country,” Anil Antony told reporters today. He said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a very clear vision to bring India to a leading position in a multi-polar world.”
Before leaving the party, Anil Antony used to run the social media cell of the Congress in Kerala. He called the BBC documentary “biased against India” before leaving the party. The Congress had cited the documentary to attack PM Modi, accusing him of orchestrated moves to undermine the opposition’s place in Indian politics.
BJP leader Piyush Goyal told reporters today, “Anil Antony is a multifaceted personality. I was very impressed when I saw the credentials of Anil Antony ji.”
“His views are similar to those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on sustainable development,” Goyal said. “We are confident that he will continue to play a very active role and help increase the BJP’s footprint in South India,” he added.
Anil Antony joining the BJP is a blow to the Congress as his father is a party stalwart and loyalist who has also been the Defense Minister. Congress said Anil Antony had betrayed his father, calling it a “day of betrayal”.
At the formal event to join the BJP, Anil Antony said he believes he has taken the right step.
“It’s not about personality, it’s about difference of opinion and views. I firmly believe I made the right move. My respect for my father It will remain the same,” he said when asked by reporters whether he had consulted his father before taking the step.
The BJP hopes that Anil Antony will be able to expand its presence in Kerala and garner support from a large voter base, especially Christians. The BJP has not yet been able to effectively breach the Left stronghold in Kerala to threaten them significantly.
Anil Antony did his MSc from Stanford University and BTech from College of Engineering Trivandrum.