“This upcoming Lok Sabha election is critical, a ‘do or die’ moment,” declared Congress stalwart and former defence minister AK Antony while talking to the media in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, March 26. “This is not just an election; it’s a referendum on the survival of the Indian ethos. Countless freedom fighters sacrificed for our nation. I will endeavour to contribute within my health constraints to prevent the BJP, which threatens to dismantle our nation, its constitution and its fundamental rights, from returning to power,” Antony emphasised.
“The aim of the Congress is to ensure that the BJP doesn’t return... if that doesn’t happen, then our country is gone. Hence, our aim is to recover India, and so this election is a life and death issue for us,” the Congress leader said.
Responding to queries about campaigning in Pathanamthitta, where his son Anil Antony is contesting as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate against his party, Antony cited health considerations. “It depends on my health. In the last Assembly elections, I worked based in Thiruvananthapuram. This time too I will surely work based out of Thiruvananthapuram,” he replied.
Antony, a three-time Kerala chief minister and the country’s longest-serving defence minister, has largely withdrawn from public life after he started having health issues. His son Anil’s shift from the Congress to the BJP in April 2023 had stirred a huge controversy.
Talking about the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), expressing hope in the judiciary, Antony said, “I trust the Supreme Court will not allow CAA. However, if it wins, the INDIA alliance government will consign the CAA to the dustbin.”