NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader AK Antony's son Anil Antony's entry into the BJP is a disappointing decision, said Dr Shashi Tharoor MP. He said that the party should work to strengthen the Congress from within and BJP will never be a good place for secularists to work.
Anil Antony joined the BJP in a major blow to the Congress which is planning to give a good fight for the BJP in the coming elections. Anil joined BJP on the 44th Founder's Day of BJP.
Anil, who resigned from his official positions in the Congress last January, also resigned as a primary membership on April 6. He then accepted party membership from Union Minister Piyush Goyal at the BJP national headquarters in the presence of Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and BJP state president K Surendran. Then he met with National President JP Nadda.
Anil then indirectly attacked the Gandhi family and said that he does not want to continue in the Congress, which serves only one family. Anil's first sentence justifying joining the BJP was quoting the Sanskrit phrase 'Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha' (He who protects dharma will be saved) from the Manusmriti. Anil said that he would work for the country in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development policies and that the decision was personal.
Meanwhile, AK Antony said that Anil's decision to join the BJP was painful. "It was a wrong decision. I will raise my voice against the BJP and RSS till my last breath. The Nehru family has always been with the family to protect the fundamental values of the Constitution.No matter how long I live, I will die as an Indian National Congressman", he said.
