THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Breaking a year-long silence, veteran Congress leader and former Defence Minister A.K. Antony will address the media at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Indira Bhavan. This will be Antony’s first official media interaction since his son, Anil Antony, quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2024.
Antony’s return to the political spotlight comes at a time when the Congress is grappling with internal disunity alongside a weakening presence in the state assembly. Despite raising issues such as repeated incidents of police custodial brutality, the opposition has failed to effectively challenge Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan or the ruling LDF.
On Tuesday, the government surprised the opposition by agreeing to discuss a notice on police brutality. The Chief Minister countered the Congress by presenting data showing that 144 police officers had been dismissed during his two terms. Though former home ministers Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan were present in the assembly, no one challenged the Chief Minister’s claims.
Concerns are growing within the Congress that the party is losing ground to the CPM both inside and outside the assembly. According to party insiders, Congress leaders have turned to Antony, widely respected for his clean image, to help restore the organisation’s credibility.