A day after supporting PM Modi over BBC row, AK Antony's son quits Congress

New Delhi, Jan 25: Congress leader Anil K Antony, son of former Union minister AK Antony, has quit Congress a day after extending support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over BBC's controversial documentary.

"I have resigned from my roles in @incindia @INCKerala.Intolerant calls to retract a tweet,by those fighting for free speech.I refused. @facebook wall of hate/abuses by ones supporting a trek to promote love! Hypocrisy thy name is! Life goes on. Redacted resignation letter below, [sic]" he tweeted.

"Considering the events from yesterday, I believe it would be appropriate for me to leave all my roles in the Congress - as the Convener of KPCC Digital Media, and as the National Co-coordinator of AICC Social Media and Digital Communications Cell," he said in the resignation letter.

He thanked everyone, Kerala leadership, party workers and Shashi Tharoor for his supporting him during his brief period.

"I am sure that I have my own unique strengths which could have enabled me to contribute very effectively to the party in several ways. However, by now I have been made well aware that you, your colleagues, and the coterie around the leadership are only keen to work with a bunch of sycophants and chamchas, who would unquestionably be at your beck and call. This has become the lone criterion of merit. Sadly, we don't have much common ground.

I would prefer to continue my other professional endeavours without being fed this negativity, and being involved in these destructive narratives, many against the very core interest of India. These I strongly believe will end up inthe dustbin of history with time," he concluded.

Antony's Surprising Tweet
In a surprising development, Anil extended his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over BBC's controversial series, saying it "undermines our sovereignty."

He took Twitter to give his disapproval over the series at a time when Kerala Congress was targeting the PM over the BBC series. "Despite large differences with BJP, I think those (in India) placing views of BBC, a state sponsored channel with a long history of (alleged India) prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over (Indian) institutions is setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty," Anil, had handled the digital communications of the grand old party's Kerala unit till recently, tweeted.

Later, he spoke to news agency ANI where he said "our differences should not allow a foreign entity to exploit it. "Whatever I had said, as far as the big picture is concerned there is nothing that is different from anything the Congress party is saying. I am a Congressman, my father is still in the party for the last 6 decades and there is no difference in anything the Congress party has said. The Gujarat riots happened almost 20 years back and it happened when I was a child, so don't even know what happened but I can confidentially say that it is one of the darkest chapters that has happened in this country's history," ANI quoted him as saying.

The Congress leader further said, "However, we have a Supreme Court, we have our institutions and finally, I was speaking from my conscience, I saw a certain narration that was happening in the last three-four days and I do think that no matter what internal differences we may have we shouldn't let that be exploited by foreign entities. We (political parties) shouldn't let external agencies exploit that to create division in this country and I felt that we are going towards that trajectory and hence I made that tweet. As I said the big picture is that there is nothing which is different then what Congress is saying. However, we feel that we should not let our internal differences be exploited by people from outside."

"We are a free country and we take pride in the fact that we are the world's largest as well as the oldest democracy and Freedom of Speech is one of the core elements in a democratic country. As long as somebody is saying something or creating a narration that is creating internal strife, that is actually creating a scenario that is a narration against our constitutional or criminal court values, they should be allowed to speak what they are allowed to speak but like I said there are certain scenarios where the end of the day our internal strives could be misused by people from outside to create divisions and this is the 75th year of our Independence and we shouldn't let history repeat itself," he said.

Anil pointed out that because of internal differences, India was under colonial rule.

"If you go back in time almost 300 years back it was our internal difference that actually led to the East India Company actually establishing the early parts of the colonial rule in India and 75 years from Independence this is actually proudly the year where we have surpassed Britain as the 5th largest economy in the world," said Antony. The Congress leader said that as of today India is on a very good trajectory and people should not let our differences once again lead to some other mistakes of the past. "India is on a very good trajectory at the moment and at this moment we shouldn't let our differences again lead to some other mistakes of the past and that is what I feel and that is what I do, thinks and feel," he added.

With inputs from ANI