'Setting dangerous precedence...' AK Antony's son Anil speaks in Modi govt's favour in BBC documentary row
By Vipin Vijayan | First Published Jan 24, 2023, 4:09 PM ISTAnil, the son of veteran Congress leader and former UPA Defence Minister AK Antony, took to Twitter to present a divergent stand on the matter.
At a time when the Congress party has been going hammer and tongs along with other Opposition parties in criticising the Narendra Modi government for its decision to ban the controversial BBC documentary on Gujarat riots, one Congress leader -- Anil K Antony -- sees the issue from an entirely different light.
Anil, the son of veteran Congress leader and former UPA Defence Minister AK Antony, took to Twitter to present a divergent stand on the matter. He said, "Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in India placing views of BBC, a state-sponsored channel with a long history of India prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over Indian institutions are setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty."
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Anil is part of the digital communications team of the Kerala unit of Congress.
To recall, the Centre had last week ordered the taking down of posts sharing links to the BBC documentary and video clips of the same on Twitter and YouTube, respectively. The BBC's two-part BBC documentary claims to have investigated aspects linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Narendra Modi was the state's chief minister.
The assertions made in the documentary have already been rejected by the Indian government. The foreign minister rubbished the documentary as a 'propaganda piece' that reflected a "colonial mindset", lacked objectivity and smacked of bias.
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The Information and Broadcasting ministry's directives to ban the documentary and block access to the video, using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, saw the Opposition cry foul and accuse the government of imposing 'censorship'.
Anil's remarks are different from what the Congress leaders have been stating on the issue. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi told media persons that no amount of banning the press and using institutions like the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation against people could suppress the truth from coming out.
Another Congress leader, Rashid Alvi, said, "How can the Narendra Modi government block a documentary? Let the people of this country decide what is wrong and what's not. Prime Minister Modi was the former chief minister of Gujarat, where thousands were killed in the riots. How can we trust the government?"
Antony junior's remarks are bound to create a flutter among Congress ranks.
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