The union government has conferred India’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna to veteran BJP leader and former union minister L.K. Advani. Announcing the award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was a very emotional moment for him personally.
“I am very happy to share that Shri L.K. 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,”
Modi tweeted. He added, “His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights.”
The prime minister said that Advani made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence. “Advani Ji’s decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political ethics. He has made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence. The conferring of the Bharat Ratna on him is a very emotional moment for me,” Modi said.
A communique from President house said, “The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Shri Lal Krishna Advani.”
The decision to award Bharat Ratna to Advani close on the heels of the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is a recognition of the veteran leader’s role in the movement and signals solidarity with Hindu cadres at a time when questions were being raised about the veteran leader’s absence at the January 22 consecration ceremony which Modi led. Advani, 96, is credited with the electoral and political rise of the BJP between 1980s and 1990s.
As BJP National President at the time, he pioneered the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement in the 1990s after the party adopted a resolution on the matter for the first time at the meeting of its National Executive in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) on June 9-11, 1989.
In the Palampur resolution, the BJP had endorsed the demand for handing over Shri Ram Janmabhoomi to Hindus for the construction of a Ram Temple there. The party had also stated that the dispute at Ayodhya should be resolved through mutual dialogue between the two communities or, if this was not possible, through an enabling legislation.
Ever since then, Ram Mandir was a constant pledge in all BJP Lok Sabha poll manifestos. The result of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement paid off. The BJP secured 85 Lok Sabha seats in the 1989 general election, 120 in 1991, 161 in 1996 and 182 in 1999, as against two in 1984.
The BJP’s rise coincided with Congress’ fall. The Congress was reduced from a high of 414 Lok Sabha seats in 1984 to just 114 in 1999. Since the formation of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980, Advani remained on the post of party president for the longest period. After playing a long innings of three decades as an MP, Advani first became the Home Minister and later became Deputy Prime Minister in PM Atal ji’s cabinet (1999-2004). Advani did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.
