Senior Congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony on Monday said Bharat Jodo Yatra’s goal will be achieved only when the BJP is ousted from power in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a programme organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) here to pay tribute to Gandhiji on his 75th martyrdom anniversary, Antony said the BJP Government which is ruling the country by breaking all the basic values of the Constitution should be ousted from power in the next Lok Sabha polls. However, he said Congress alone could not do this task of freeing the country from the BJP rule.
“Congress alone is not enough to free the country from the BJP rule. We expect that the Opposition in the country will unite together under the leadership of’ new Rahul Gandhi emerged from the Bharat Jodo Yatra’, to oust the BJP from power.
“After the completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, India has found a ‘new Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi had a second birth to recognise the Indian reality. He discovered India,” the senior Congress leader said
Stating that Rahul Gandhi has taken the most different journey that India has ever seen, AK Antony said he brought together all the people he met along the way of his yatra. He came out praising Rahul when his son Anil K Antony continued to criticise the Congress over the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Anil K Antony, who quit key party posts last week, on Sunday embarrassed Congress with a tweet implying that the party is no keener on preserving the territorial integrity of India.
Targeting the BBC for publishing India’s map without Kashmir, Anil tweeted, “Some past shenanigans of BBC, repeat offenders questioning India’s territorial integrity, publishing truncated maps without Kashmir. Independent media without vested interests, indeed, and perfect allies for the current @INCIndia and partners.” He also shared two screenshots from the BBC featuring truncated maps of India.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who had earlier criticized Anil, and Congress digital media wing chairperson Supriya Srinathe were also tagged in the tweet.
Along with the BBC, Anil criticised the Congress in his tweet, saying “Independent media without vested interests indeed, and perfect allies for the current @INCIndia and partners.”
Earlier, Anil Antony’s tweet against the BBC’s ‘India: The Modi Question’ documentary, which referred to the Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has drawn flak from Congress leaders.Following this he resigned from the posts of chairman, state Congress digital communication cell and AICC’s digital media coordinator.
In a tweet last week, Anil Antony had said placing the views of the British broadcaster over Indian institutions would ‘undermine’ the country’s sovereignty.
“Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in India placing views of BBC, a UK state-sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over Indian institutions is setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty,” Anil tweeted last week.