'Emperor; grand royals': Anil Antony jibes Congress as Kiran Reddy joins BJP

Antony – who joined the BJP on Thursday – and Reddy, both former Congressmen, ended up joining the saffron party within a day of each other.

Published on: Apr 7, 2023, 15:05:24 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Former Congress leader Anil Antony on Friday welcomed ex-Andhra Pradesh chief minister and another former Congressman Kiran Kumar Reddy to the BJP with an ‘emperor’ jibe against the grand old party.

Anil Antony (left) joined BJP in presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal (right) (Twitter Photo)

Also Read | 'My king is very intelligent…': Ex-Andhra CM's jab as he swaps Cong for BJP

Antony, the son of Congress veteran and former defence minister AK Antony, joined the BJP a day ago, after leaving the Congress in January, when he took a stand against BBC's documentary on prime minister Narendra Modi; though the documentary was blocked by the Union government, it received support from the opposition parties, including the Congress.

“Welcome Kiran Kumar Reddy to the @BJP4India! Glad you have also joined the organization that is working for India's core national interests and public interests without prejudice and bias. How many more should say that the emperor has no clothes before the grand royals…” tweeted Antony on Friday.

It was not immediately clear who he referred to as ‘emperor’ here, though ‘grand royals’ was used clearly for the Gandhi family: former party chief Sonia Gandhi, her son and another former chief Rahul, and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

‘My king is very intelligent…’

Reddy, the last chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh before Telangana was carved out of it in June 2014, took a veiled jibe at the Congress leadership, blaming it for the party getting damaged in all states.

“They don't take the opinion of the leaders. It is not the story of one state. It is a story throughout the country. There is an old saying - my king is very intelligent, he doesn't think on his own, and he doesn't listen to anyone's advice,” remarked the former CM, addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters shortly after his induction.

‘Dharma to work for a family…’

Antony, though, was more direct in Thursday's press conference. “Today, several Congress workers and leaders believe it is their 'dharma' to work for a family. My ‘dharma’ is to work for the country,” he said.

Also Read | 'Betrayed his father on Maundy Thursday': Congress attacks Anil Antony

Though Mallikarjun Kharge is the incumbent president, the ‘real power,’ allege BJP leaders and Congress critics, continues to be with the Gandhi family.

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