BJP stalwart and former deputy Chief Minister LK Advani on Saturday said that he was honoured to accept the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
“With utmost humility and gratitude, I accept the ‘Bharat Ratna’ that has been conferred on me today. It is not only an honour for me as a person, but also for the ideals and principles that I strove to serve throughout my life to the best of my ability,” Advani said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday said that the 96-year-old BJP leader will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, and described it as a “very emotional moment for me”.
“It is not only an honour for me as a person, but also for the ideals and principles that I strove to serve throughout my life to the best of my ability,” he said.
“Ever since I joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as its volunteer at the age of 14, I have sought reward in only thing – in dedicated and selfless service of my beloved country in whatever task life assigned to me. What has inspired my life is the motto “इदं न मम” “This life is not mine. My life is for my Nation”,” the senior BJP leader added.
He also said that on the day, he also remembered two other BJP veterans – Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
PM Modi, sharing the news in a post on X, said, “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.
Soon after the PM’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.
Earlier, the government had announced the name late Karpoori Thakur, a socialist stalwart and former Bihar chief minister, for the highest honour.
The acknowledgment of Thakur posthumously is widely perceived by political analysts as a strategic move by the BJP to strengthen its connection with the economically backward classes (EBC), a category Thakur belonged to. Meanwhile, the recognition of Advani is viewed as a tribute to his pivotal role in shaping the party’s core ideology, which now dominates the country’s political landscape under Modi.
Advani is set to receive the Bharat Ratna in the year of the consecration of the Ram temple, symbolizing a significant moment for the BJP. This event marks the successful conclusion of an issue brought into the public consciousness by Advani himself through the ‘Ram Rath Yatra’ in 1990. The yatra, with its widespread appeal, significantly increased the party’s vote share and positioned it as the primary challenger to the Congress, the largest national party at that time.