BJP stalwart LK Advani to be awarded Bharat Ratna
One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental, said PM Narendra Modi
PTI
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The Bharat Ratna will be bestowed on Advani in a year of the Ram temple's consecration. PHOTO: PTI
New Delhi, 3 Feb
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
announced on Saturday that BJP stalwart and former deputy prime minister Lal
Krishna Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest
civilian award, and described it as a "very emotional moment for me".
"One of the most respected
statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is
monumental. His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to
serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister," Modi said on X. His
decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment
to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political
ethics, the prime minister said.
Advani has made unparalleled
efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence, he said. "The
conferring of the Bharat Ratna on him is a very emotional moment for me. I will
always consider it my privilege that I got countless opportunities to interact
with him and learn from him," he said.
Modi spoke to the BJP's longest
serving president, who is credited with crafting the party's rise through the
90s when it came to power for the first time with Atal Bihari Vajpayee heading
coalition governments, and congratulated him. Advani's parliamentary
interventions have always been exemplary and full of rich insights, Modi said.
Soon after the prime minister's
announcement, a communication from the Rashtrapati Bhawan said President
Droupadi Murmu has been pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Advani.
After the announcement, the
96-year-old leader greeted mediapersons from a distance at his residence and
his daughter Pratibha Advani told journalists that he is very happy at being
given the country's highest state honour.
He thanked PM Modi and the people
of the country, she said. 'Dada', she said in an affectionate reference to her
father, noted that he has dedicated his entire life to the country.
Last month, the government had
named the late Karpoori Thakur, a socialist stalwart and former Bihar chief
minister, for the highest honour. If the recognition for Thakur years after he
passed away in 1988 was seen by many political experts as part of the BJP's
push to deepen its roots among the economically backward classes (EBC), a
category from which he came from, the honour for Advani is being seen as an ode
to his instrumental role in shaping the party's core ideology which has come to
dominate the country's polity under Modi.
The Bharat Ratna will be bestowed
on Advani in a year of the Ram temple's consecration, which marks a triumphant
closure for the BJP of an issue which was thrust into popular consciousness by
the veteran leader through his 'Ram Rath Yatra' in 1990. The yatra and the mass
appeal it drew boosted the party's vote share and made it the key challenger to
the Congress, then the biggest national party.
BJP leaders expressed happiness at
the honour for Advani and lauded his contribution to the country. He has been
dedicated to serving the country and its people selflessly through his life,
Home Minister Amit Shah said, adding that he tirelessly works for issues
related to the nation, culture and people. Words cannot describe his
contribution to the party and its ideology, Shah said.
Expressing his joy, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh said Advani symbolised probity, dedication and strong
resolve in politics. In his long public life the contribution he made in
different capacities to the country's development and nation-building is
unforgettable and inspiring, he said. Advani has strengthened the country and
democracy with his abilities and the ABharat Ratna for him is a matter of
happiness for every India, Singh said.
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