The Congress in Kerala on Wednesday came under fire from veteran leader AK Antony’s son over his tweet on the controversial BBC documentary and said those with divergent views can find other avenues.
Hours after Anil Antony submitted his resignation from party posts, senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, VD Satheesan, said the former Defense Minister’s son took a stand contrary to the grand old party’s declared policies.
He also welcomed Anil’s decision to relieve him of the responsibilities assigned to him by the party.
The agitated Youth Congress leadership in the southern state said it could not sustain such contradictory views within the ideological framework of the Congress party.
Earlier in the day, senior leader Shashi Tharoor, said to be close to Anil, also dismissed his views and termed his arguments on the British broadcaster’s documentary as “immature”.
“I think it is an immature stand… Because, the sovereignty of our country cannot be affected so easily… Will it be affected if a foreign documentary is screened? … Is our national security and sovereignty so fragile to be affected by a documentary?” he said.
Tharoor, however, said that Anil, who had handled the party’s digital communications for some time, was a “good person” and that he had not discussed the BBC documentary issue with him.
Satheesan showed no mercy to Antony’s son and said that Anil had taken a stand contrary to the declared policies of the Congress party and hence he welcomed his decision to relieve him of the responsibilities assigned to him by the party.
He said KPCC chief K Sudhakaran has already made the party’s stand clear on the BBC documentary issue.
“It applies to all. Those with divergent views can find other avenues. Any comment made by anyone against the party’s stand will not be accepted,” he told reporters in Idukki.
Stating that Anil is a person who knows about the policies of the party, Satheesan said that his opinion can be said from outside the party.
He said that if he gives his opinion on the BBC documentary, the party will take it seriously.
The Congress will lead the screening of the documentary violating the ban if it is banned in the country, he said, adding that this too is part of the relentless struggle to bring back the democratic, republican and constitutional values of the country.
Youth Congress state president Shafi Parambil also rejected Anil’s views, saying that India’s sovereignty is not a bubble that can be burst so easily.
The country’s sovereignty has a strong foundation that was built through the freedom struggle and the rights guaranteed by the constitution.
“Therefore, we are not prepared to believe or believe that the criticisms against Modi are against India…Ideologically the resignation of Anil was inevitable. Because, he cannot uphold such views while standing within the framework of the Congress party,” he said in Palakkad.
The leader and an MLA said the stand taken by the Congress party on the issue would not be diluted by the statement of one person.
Asked whether Anil had failed to fulfill his duty as national co-coordinator of AICC Social Media and Digital Communications Cell to promote and publicize the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Parambil said the party would look into such matters. .
The leader said it was a lapse if he had not discharged his responsibilities properly.
However, BJP state chief K Surendran welcomed Anil’s resignation as the digital media convenor of the Congress and said it dealt a blow to the party leadership’s anti-national approach.
His resignation was an example for the position that patriots cannot work in the Congress party, he alleged, adding that Anil now became unpopular with the party because of his opposition to the encroachment of foreign powers on the country’s integrity, unity and sovereignty.
Anil had tweeted on Tuesday that despite major differences with the BJP, who supports and holds the views of Jack Straw, a British broadcaster and former UK foreign secretary, “the brains behind the Iraq War” (US-led in 2003) ) Indian institutions are setting a dangerous precedent.
A two-part BBC documentary which claims to have investigated certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riots when the Prime Minister was Narendra Modi was the chief minister of that state, was dismissed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a “propaganda piece” that lacked objectivity and reflected a “colonial mindset”.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)