Dangerous precedence: AK Antony's son on BBC documentary on PM Modi

Anil K Antony (Credit Twitter)

Former defence minister and senior Congress leader AK Antony’s son Anil K Antony on January 24 jumped into the controversy surrounding the BBC’s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Anil Antony  who handles the digital communications of Congress' state unit in Kerala, said the documentary is setting a dangerous precedence and undermines India’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 Indian prejudices, and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over Indian institutions is setting a dangerous precedence, will undermine our sovereignty,” Anil said in a tweet.

The son of veteran Congress leader AK Antony, who is deemed a close confidant of the Gandhi family has  expressed his views after BBC on January 17 released the first part of “The Modi Question”. The two-part documentary questions PM Modi's leadership as the chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Opposition parties including Indian National Congress and Trinamool Congress are criticising the Centre for the documentary’s censorship as Information and Broadcasting Ministry has blocked the series on YouTube.

Talking to Moneycontrol, Anil Antony said, “Gujarat riots were a dark period in the history of India. But in my personal opinion, we should not let external forces dabble into our internal matters.”

He said the BBC’s documentary has come at a time when India has overtaken the UK to emerge as the fifth-largest economy.

“We should move past and not compromise on our internal matters. In the last seventy-five years a lot has changed in India,” said Anil Antony

Earlier during a press conference in Jammu, Rahul Gandhi responded to a question on the controversy, he said, “If you read our scriptures, if you read Bhagwat Gita or you read the Upanishads, you will see in it the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out. You can ban, you can suppress the press, you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED and all the stuff but truth is truth."