- PM Modi pays tribute to LK Advani on his 99th birthday.
- Highlighted Advani's role in Emergency, Jana Sangh, BJP.
- Praised his Rath Yatra and partnership with Atal Ji.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday penned a note as BJP patriarch and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani entered the 100th year of his life. In a tribute to Advani, the Prime Minister traced his journey from Sindh, traversing through Partition, the democratic fight during the Emergency and the formation of the Jana Sangh and the BJP in his article.
PM Modi noted that Advani's birthday this year coincides with Diwali. He was born on Dev Diwali on November 8, 1927, in Karachi (Modern-day Pakistan). The year he enters 100th also marks 75 years since the founding of Jana Sangh, the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and the completion of 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
"As a youngster in 1947, he experienced the pain of leaving behind his familiar world in Sindh. He rebuilt his life from scratch without bitterness. This trait of being able to build from scratch, against all odds, has stayed with him throughout. It was seen while he was strengthening the Jana Sangh and later building the BJP," PM Modi wrote.
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Emphasising the decline in Congress's graph under his tenure as the BJP president, PM Modi recalled, "His tenures as BJP President saw the Congress falling sharply from 400 to below 200 in 1989 and the BJP becoming the single largest party for the first time in 1996."
He credited Advani for nurturing generations of karyakartas (party workers) and gave the party a clear foundation rooted in the principle of Nation First.
Highlighting his two qualities, the PM said, "Two qualities always set Advani Ji apart as a leader. First, his ideological clarity and intellectual sharpness. This was reflected in his speeches and writings. The Jana Sangh and BJP resolutions he authored remain worth reading even today, while his interviews were consistently incisive and precise. Second, the manner in which he exposed the pseudo-secularism propounded by a large section of the Indian polity for many years."
PM Modi also delved into his close association with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "As an RSS Pracharak, Advani Ji first worked in different parts of Rajasthan. From there, he went to the national capital, where he started working closely with Atal Ji. History shows that it is rare for two towering political leaders to work together for several decades, cooperating with each other without becoming competitors. Advani Ji and Atal Ji set a remarkable example. Together, they changed the course of Indian politics," he said.
The Prime Minister also recalled Advani's 1991 Lok Sabha contest from Gujarat while writing about his parliamentary stint. PM Modi noted that Advani had a connection with Gujarat and that during the 1991 polls, he assisted him with preparing papers and the poll campaign. Advani had emerged victorious in that election.
PM Modi termed the 'Emergency' as a watershed moment in Advani's life. "He was at the forefront of saving democracy and protecting the Constitution. His experiences found their way into his book, ‘A Prisoner's Scrap-Book.’ One part of that book, titled ‘A Tale of Two Emergencies’, beautifully explained the striking similarities between the events in India starting June 1975 and those in Nazi Germany in 1933. Advani Ji was a fiery Opposition leader but an equally excellent administrator. When the Janata Government came to office in 1977, Advani Ji became Minister for Information and Broadcasting. It is widely accepted that his work in this department was extremely impactful," the PM said.
The mention of Advani's Rath Yatra also found mention in the PM's note as he called it an 'iconic moment,' conceiving it as an opportunity for himself to have contributed to it. "Of course, an iconic moment in Advani Ji’s life was the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra. It changed the course of Indian society for the better. I consider it a privilege that I got the opportunity to be involved in this Yatra from the ideation stage to execution. Being present at Somnath when the Yatra began was particularly special. A Yatra can be very demanding, requiring long hours, constant travel, physical endurance and an ability to remain focused despite fatigue. Advani Ji embodied this endurance," the PM wrote.