Anil K Antony, the son of veteran Congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony, on Thursday joined the BJP in the presence of Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and V Muraleedharan.
Expressing his unconditional loyalty to the “Nehru-Gandhi family”, the former Defence Minister said, “I am deeply pained by Anil’s decision to join the BJP.”
Anil, who headed the Digital Media cell of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, attacked the Congress leadership for working for a “single family” instead of working for the country.
He had quit the Congress after criticising the party’s stand on the controversial documentary film of the BBC on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Welcoming Anil 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,” Anil said when asked whether he had consulted his father before joining the BJP.