Bharat Ratna For L K Advani
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2024-02-04 06:39:40
About the Author
There were two important issues that the BJP faced going into the 2024 general elections. The first was the attempt by the opposition to turn the battle into Mandal versus Kamandal 2.0 by raising the issue of caste surveys. Their demand for the survey was meant to assure the backward classes that the opposition was with them. Prime Minister Modi first tried to change the narrative by saying that there were only four castes in India - the poor, the youth, the women and the farmers. Then, to strike a blow to the opposition, the government conferred the Bharat Ratna on the champion of extreme backward classes, former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur posthumously. That was a masterstroke that was meant to convince the backward classes that while the opposition talked of surveys, the government recognized the work of one of their own by honouring him with the highest civilian award in the country.
The second issue was the Ram Mandir and the attempt to consolidate the Hindu vote further. The consecration ceremony at Ayodhya, televised live, was an event that was watched by millions. But now, the government has gone further. Recognizing the role of former deputy prime minister and senior BJP leader L K Advani in the journey that started with his rath yatra and culminated in the building of the Ram Mandir and that led to a cultural revival among the Hindus, the government has conferred him with the Bharat Ratna.
There is no doubt that 96-year-old L K Advani is a deserving Bharat Ratna. His public life has been spotless and he has been a brilliant administrator, handling all ministries he was given with efficiency. He never compromised with his core ideology for any selfish gains. As Information & Broadcasting Minister in the Janata government after the Emergency, talking about the censorship imposed during the period, he criticized the Indian Press with his famous remark that "you were asked only to bend, but you crawled". The Opposition, including the Congress has welcomed the award to Advani.
