Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): A day after opposing the two-part BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Kerala Chief Minister AK Antony’s son Anil has resigned from all Congress posts.
“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.” he said in a tweet attaching his resignation letter.
Anil Antony said he took the decision after he received intolerant calls from party men. They were asking him to retract the tweet opposing a BBC documentary. AK Antony’s son had said placing the views of British broadcaster over Indian institutions would undermine the country’s sovereignty.
“Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in placing views of BBC, a state sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over institutions setting a dangerous precedent,will undermine our sovereignty,” he said.
On Tuesday, various political organisations screened the controversial documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The left leaning Students Federation of India (SFI) and other organisations conducted screening across Kerala.
Congress should woo Hindus: AK Antony
Earlier this month AK Antony, Anil Antony’s father, had advised the party to take Hindus along. AK Antony said minorities alone will not suffice in the fight to bring down BJP’s rule. Antony, a member of the Congress Working Committee, made these comments while addressing the party’s 128th foundation day.
A majority of the people in the country are Hindus. And the Congress needs to take them along in this fight against “fascism” and Narendra Modi, Antony said. He had also disagreed with Congress party’s strategy regarding soft-Hindutva. Presently, Congress portrays people from the Hindu community going to temples or wearing a tilak or a bindi as pursuing a soft-Hindutva line.
“The Congress is trying to bring the Hindu majority as well as the minorities in the party fold,” Antony had said. He added that depicting such attempts as part of the Congress’ soft-Hindutva line would only help PM Modi.
That was not for the first time AK Antony had come out against the poll strategy of the Congress. After the party’s defeat in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had formed a panel to assess the debacle. The panel headed by Antony observed that pitching the elections as a fight between secularism and communalism was responsible for the party’s loss. The Antony committee report further deciphered that the minority-appeasement policy of the Congress had proven to be counter-productive.
He has, on another occasion, stated that minorities in Kerala have secured more privileges and benefits from the government. “Unlike the rest of India, minority communities here dominate the state’s political and administrative echelons. It cannot be allowed,” he had said.