Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he welcomes the Centre's decision to confer LK Advani with Bharat Ratna. However, this was not the first reaction coming from the Grand Old Party hours after PM Modi made the announcement through a post on X. Delhi Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said the PM and the BJP remembered Advani quite late.
"What the BJP earlier did to LK Advani was hurtful. The position the BJP is in today has been because of Advani. Best wishes to him," Sandeep Dikshit said.
Jairam Ramesh later reacted with a reminder of 2002 and 2014. "In 2002, LK Advani saved Narendra Modi when Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked then Gujarat CM Modi to observe Rajdharma. In 2014, Advani said Modi was not his disciple but a brilliant event manager. When I look at Advani and PM Modi, I remember these two incidents," Jairam Ramesh said.
After PM Modi's announcement, a communication from the Rashtrapati Bhawan said President Droupadi Murmu has been pleased to award the Bharat Ratna to Advani.
Among the opposition, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) also welcomed the decision but asked why Balasaheb Thackeray and Savarkar have not yet been conferred with Bharat Ratna. "We came to know just now that Lal Krishna Advani is being awarded with the Bharat Ratna. This is a matter of great joy. He always did the politics of humility and tried to bring everyone together. But when will Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb Thackeray get Bharat Ratna? We have raised this demand for years. BJP takes their names when elections come," Uddhav faction leader Anand Dubey said.
{{/usCountry}}Among the opposition, Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) also welcomed the decision but asked why Balasaheb Thackeray and Savarkar have not yet been conferred with Bharat Ratna. "We came to know just now that Lal Krishna Advani is being awarded with the Bharat Ratna. This is a matter of great joy. He always did the politics of humility and tried to bring everyone together. But when will Veer Savarkar and Balasaheb Thackeray get Bharat Ratna? We have raised this demand for years. BJP takes their names when elections come," Uddhav faction leader Anand Dubey said.
{{/usCountry}}LK Advani issued a statement accepting the Bharat Ratna with utmost humility and gratitude. "It is not only an honour for me as a person, but also for the ideals and principles that I store to serve throughout my life to the best of my ability," Advani wrote asserting that his motto has always been that his life is for his nation.
In January, the government named the late Karpoori Thakur, former chief minister of Bihar, for the highest honour.
Advani's son Jayant Advani and daughter Pratibha Advani expressed happiness over the decision and said their father is overwhelmed with the honour. "He is very overwhelmed. He is a man of few words. But he had tears in his eyes. He was very happy even at the time of Pran Pratishtha of Ram temple. This was such a dream of his life for which he struggled and worked for a long time. His personality is such that when someone praises him, tears come to his eyes," Pratibha said.
"My father's contribution to public life has been immense and it is wonderful to note that at this stage in his life, his efforts are being recognised in this magnificent way," Jayant said.