- Sunday, March 02, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
AK Antony, one of the stalwarts of India’s opposition Indian National Congress from the southern state of Kerala who served as the country’s defence minister between 2006 and 2014 in the Manmohan Singh government, on Thursday (6) expressed anguish after his son Anil Antony decided to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister Narendra Modi.
The 82-year-old leader called his son’s decision a “wrong” one and that it was a “very painful” moment for him.
He also said that he would never support the ideology of the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which he accused of trying to divide the country and weaken the foundations of its democracy.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Antony, who has also been the chief minister of Kerala three times, said he always opposed the BJP and RSS for their “communal and divisive agenda” and that he would continue to do so “till his last breath”.
He also said that he was loyal to the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family which he credited for keeping India united and respecting its diversity. A former student leader, Antony said that he was inspired by former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi who had encouraged him to join politics and that he had differed with her only once over a policy issue but returned to the Congress later and respected her even more.
Antony had floated his own party Congress(A) but merged it with the Congress after sometime.
“I am at the last phase of my political career and do not know how long I will live. But as long as I do, I will live for the Congress,” Antony was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Antony’s remarks came after his son, who had been associated with various social initiatives and digital campaigns of the grand-old party, announced his decision to join the saffron party earlier in the day, saying he was impressed by the leadership of Modi and minister Amit Shah.
He quit the Congress in January in the wake of a row over the BBC documentary series on the Gujarat riots of 2002 and Modi after criticising the party’s stand.
Speaking in contrast to his father, Anil said while every Congress worker believed that were working for a family, he believed that he was working for the country. He also lauded Modi saying the latter has a “very clear vision of putting India in a leading place in a multi-polar world”.
The junior Antony joined the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of central ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan.
Welcoming Antony in the BJP, Goyal described him as a “very grounded political worker”, who was convinced that the BJP cares for the country and shared the prime minister’s vision of sustainable growth.
“This is not about personalities, this is about differences of opinion and ideas. I strongly believe that I have taken the right step. My respect for my father will remain the same,” Antony said when asked whether he had consulted his father before joining the BJP.
