The BBC documentary is having a knock-on effect, perhaps not even imagined by the BJP itself. One day after his controversial post on Twitter wherein Anil Antony shared his views on the documentary, he quit Congress. The son of Congress leader AK Antony had been handling digital operations of Congress' Kerala unit.
Sharing his resignation letter on Twitter, Antony wrote, "I have resigned from my roles in INC India and INC Kerala. Intolerant calls to retract a tweet by those fighting for free speech. I refused. Wall of hate/abuses by ones supporting a trek to promote love! Hypocrisy thy name is! Life goes on. Redacted resignation letter below."
Anil had tweeted on Tuesday that despite his large differences with BJP, he thought, "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."
Using some harsh words, Antony's resignation letter also said that he refused to play a sycophant that had become the sole criterion of merit. "I would like to continue my other professional endeavours without being fed this negativity, and being involved in these destructive narratives, many against the very core interests of India. These I strongly believe will end up in the dustbin of history with time."
His tweet on the documentary came against the background of Congress announcing that it'll screen the controversial documentary across Kerala on Republic Day, "in view of the undeclared ban on it in the country."
Anil Antony's statement immediately made many in the political circles jump the gun and speculate that he was joining the BJP. However, there has been no such statement or confirmation on the matter yet.
