The highest civilian honour in India, the Bharat Ratna, has been given to Lal Krishna Advani, the BJP stalwart whose Rath Yatra for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple in the early 1990s propelled the party into national prominence.
The news that Shri LK Advani Ji will receive the Bharat Ratna makes me very happy. PM Narendra Modi tweeted on X, “I also spoke with him and congratulated him on being conferred this honour.”
I am very happy to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this honour. One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is a… pic.twitter.com/Ya78qjJbPK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 3, 2024
In announcing the veteran’s honour, Prime Minister Modi said that LK Advani has played a historic role in the growth of India. He referred to him as one of India’s most esteemed statesmen.
“One of the most esteemed leaders of our day, he has made a huge contribution to India’s progress. His career began at the bottom and he rose to become our Deputy Prime Minister, serving the country. He made a name for himself as both our Home Minister and our Minister of I&B. He stated, “His parliamentary interventions have consistently been outstanding and insightful.
“Throughout his many years in public service, Adani Ji has demonstrated an unflinching dedication to integrity and transparency, creating a model for political ethics. He has worked tirelessly to promote cultural revival and national cohesion. I find it really moving when the Bharat Ratna is given to him. I will always feel privileged to have had so many chances to engage with him and pick his brain,” he continued.
Who is lal krishna Advani ?
Lal Krishna Advani, who was born in Karachi, moved to India following the Partition. He made Bombay his home. At the age of fourteen, he had enlisted in the RSS in 1941.
He joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951, the party that BJP leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee formed. The BJP’s political forerunner was the Jana Sangh.
In 1970, Advani was admitted as a member of the Rajya Sabha for the first time. He had four RS positions until 1989.
Following the Janata Party’s victory in the general elections, he was first appointed as the leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha and minister for communication and broadcasting in 1977.
He was among the BJP’s original members. He presided over the party three times as its president.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1989.
In 1999, Advani was the deputy prime minister and minister of home affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet.
India’s second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, was given to LK Advani in 2015.
The development of BJP and the role of LK Advani
Because of the BJP’s insistence on having the Ram Temple built in Ayodhya, LK Advani started the Ram Rath Yatra in 1990. Starting in Gujarat’s Somnath, the procession made its way to Ayodhya. Support for his Rath Yatra was widely expressed. The BJP rose from a tiny role in national politics to become the second-largest party in the parliament, behind the Congress, in the general elections of 1991.
How politicians reacted to Bharat Ratna to LK Advani
Brajesh Pathak, a BJP politician, congratulated the leader.
“We all gave Lal Krishna Advani our sincere congratulations. The kind of work he oversaw that was completed both in the state and nationwide…In his time there, he raised the nation to unprecedented heights. He told ANI, “I also thank the PM for announcing Bharat Ratna for him.”
Sandeep Dikshit, the leader of the Congress, asserted that the BJP mistreated him.
“I’d like to greet him. The late PM Modi and the BJP considered LK Advani. He has led their party with dignity. LK Advani built the groundwork for the BJP to be in this position today.”I wish him well now that he’s been granted the Bharat Ratna, even though the BJP didn’t treat him well,” he remarked.
According to BRS MLC K Kavitha, LK Advani’s Bharat Ratna appears to have fulfilled the BJP’s aim.
“Lal Krishna Advani deserves a lot of congratulations for receiving the Bharat Ratna…It’s a good thing that the Ram temple was constructed and that Lal Krishna Advani received the Bharat Ratna. The BJP’s program appears to be coming to a close,” he declared.