Former Congress leader Anil Antony on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Anil Antony, the son of former Union Minister AK Antony, had quit the Congress in January days after criticising the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

He had called the BBC a “state-sponsored channel with a long history of prejudices” against India and had said that placing the views of the documentary above those of Indian institutions undermines the country’s sovereignty.

The British broadcaster had released the first part of the documentary, India: The Modi Question, on January 17. It alleged that Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat, was “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the 2002 riots and that he had ordered senior police officers not to intervene.

More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the riots.

On Thursday, without naming the Gandhi family, Anil Antony claimed that many Congress leaders believe that it is their duty to work for them.

“I believe that my duty is to work for the people,” he said, according to ANI. “PM [Narendra] Modi has a clear vision to make India a developed country in the next 25 years…”

Meanwhile, AK Antony said he was pained by his son’s decision to join the saffron party.

“It is a very wrong decision,” AK Antony said, according to ANI. “India’s base is unity and religious harmony. “[After] Modi government came to power, they are systematically diluting diversity and secularism.”

Describing the day as “Maundy Thursday”, Kerala Pradesh Congress President K Sudhakaran Anil Antony was not given any responsibilities and so the party was not concerened about him joining the BJP, reported PTI.

“Today is the day of Judas [Iscariot] who betrayed Jesus Christ for a payment of 30 silver coins,” he told reporters. “Many such things will happen on that day. This [Anil joining BJP] should also be seen as such an incident.”

Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday in Christianity. On this day, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, had betrayed him by identifying him to the Romans for 30 silver coins, according to the Bible. Iscariot’s betrayal led to Jesus Christ’s capture, resulting in his crucificaiton the next day.