Emotionally charged Antony says son's decision wrong, has pained him

Thiruvananthapuram, April 6

An emotionally charged veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony on Thursday said his son Anil Antony's decision to join the BJP has pained him and was a wrong decision.

Antony, who returned to the state capital soon after his Rajya Sabha tenure ended last year, was addressing a press conference the state party headquarters here.

Earlier, in the day, Anil Antony joined the BJP in Delhi, saying: "Many of the Congress leaders believe that their duty is to work for a particular family but I believe that my duty is to work for the people. PM Narendra Modi has a clear vision to make India a developed country in the next 25 years."

But Antony said after Modi took over in 2014 in his first tenure, the basic tenets of Indian democracy, which centered around secularism and pluralism, were affected.

"And after he took over in his second term, this got speeded up and is centring around autocracy. For me, till my last breath I will be fighting the BJP and the RSS. I have been close to the Nehru family, even though at one point of time I had to split with them, once I returned after a while, my love and respect towards the Nehru family has been steadfast and increased hugely," said Antony holding back his emotions.

"My life is entering the last stages as I am 82 years now and I have no idea how long I will live. I am not interested in a long life, but till my last breath I will be a Congressman. What I said about Anil's decision now is my first and last statement and will not speak about it again," he said and walked away.

Former Leader of Opposition and senior party legislator Ramesh Chennithala said the decision of a son to chalk his way forward was his own and it will never be a blot on Antony.

"Anil joining the BJP will not have any impact at all," he said.