Kochi: Veteran Congress leader AK Antony emotionally reacted to his son Anil K Antony’s joining BJP, terming it as a ‘wrong move’.
Anil K Antony has been showing sympathies to the BJP beginning with criticizing the BBC documentary, before eventually joining the party the other day, shocking the congress in Kerala.
His father AK Antony is the most respected leader of the Congress in the state with an untainted record for clean politics.
Although the Congress leadership belittles Anil Antony’s quitting, privately leaders admit that it could dent the party’s image at the national level too.
Anil K Antony joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of Union ministers Piyush Goyal, V Muraleedharan and BJP's Kerala unit chief K Surendran.
"The decision of Anil to join BJP really hurt me. It's a completely wrong move," AK Antony was quoted by India Today as saying.
AK Antony went on almost tearfully said ‘I am 82-years-old. I am in the last stages of my life. I will be with the Congress till my last breath.’
The veteran leader reasoned his objection to Anil’s switching over to the BJP saying since 2014 there have been attempts to destabilize the country.
"In 2014, the move to destroy was taking place slowly. But since 2019, it has caught pace," the Congress leader said.
After criticizing the BBC documentary on PM Modi, Anil Antony had resigned from all roles in the Congress.
Even after he was pressured by party leadership to back away, Anil stuck to his stand on the BBC documentary showing early signs of his change in political affiliation.