In a setback for the Congress, Anil Antony, son of veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony, joined the BJP on Thursday. Anil quit the Congress in January following a row over the BBC's documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
He was welcomed into the saffron party by BJP leader Piyush Goel and V. Muraleedharan at a formal event in New Delhi. Welcoming Anil into the party, Goyal said: "We have confidence he will continue to play a very active role and help grow the BJP's footprint in southern India.”
"Every Congress worker believes they are working for a family,” Anil said after being formally inducted into the BJP. Lauding Modi's leadership, he further said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a very clear vision of putting India in a leading place in a multi-polar world.”
Anil's BJP entry comes as a setback for the Congress as his father is a party loyalist and former defence minister. Anil had earlier handled the Congress's digital communications. Anil's tweet, contradictory to the Congress's stand on the BBC documentary, had irked the Congress leadership in January, following which he resigned from all party roles. In his resignation letter, he cited "intolerant calls to retract the tweet'.
