New Delhi: Anil Antony, the son of former Defence Minister and Congress veteran AK Antony,  joined the BJP on Thursday.

He had stepped down from all positions within the Congress in January, following a tweet in which he criticized the contentious BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which caused a stir within the party.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal, V Muraleedharan and BJP's Kerala unit chief K Surendran accorded a warm welcome to the former Congress leader to their party at a formal event.

Anil Antony headed the Congress's social media wing in Kerala before ditching the party following the controversy over the BBC documentary.

Anil had strongly criticized the BBC documentary, which provides a visceral view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged involvement in the Gujarat riots. He had accused the documentary of being biased against India, and its contents of being prejudiced.

Anil Antony had objected to the documentary and stated that giving more importance to the opinions of a foreign broadcaster like BBC over the institutions in India would harm the country's independence and self-rule. He believed that this would undermine India's sovereignty and that it was necessary to prioritize the perspectives and interests of Indian institutions.

He took to Twitter and wrote, "Despite large differences with BJP, I think those in placing views of BBC, a state sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices,and of Jack Straw, the brain behind the Iraq war, over institutions is setting a dangerous precedence,will undermine our sovereignty."

In his resignation letter, Anil took a jibe at some of his colleagues and mentioned, "I am sure that I have my own unique strengths which could have enabled me to contribute very effectively to the party in several ways. However, by now I have been made well aware that you, your colleagues, and the coterie around the leadership are only keen to work with a bunch of sycophants and chamchas, who would unquestionably be at your beck and call. This has become the lone criterion of merit. Sadly, we don't have much common ground."