President Murmu confers Bharat Ratna upon BJP veteran LK Advani

President Droupadi Murmu conferred Bharat Ratna upon LK Advani. PM Narendra Modi was also present at Advani's residence.

Updated on: Mar 31, 2024, 12:42:05 IST

By HT News Desk

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President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, upon Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani at the latter's residence in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar and former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu were also present at the residence of LK Advani on the occasion.

President Droupadi Murmu conferred Bharat Ratna upon LK Advani at the latter's residence in Delhi on Sunday. (ANI)

The Modi government announced five names for the Bharat Ratna this year that also included LK Advani.

On Saturday, President Murmu conferred Bharat Ratna on four eminent personalities, including two former prime ministers, Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao. Former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur and agronomist MS Swaminathan were also conferred with the country's highest civilian award.

PV Narasimha Rao's daughter, N Sharada Devi, expressed happiness over her late father being conferred the Bharat Ratna.

N Sharada Devi said, “I thank the Indian government and PM Narendra Modi for giving the Bharat Ratna to my father PV Narasimha Rao from the hands of President of India. We all are very happy.”

Former PM PV Narasimha Rao's award was received by his son PV Prabhakar Rao.

LK Advani's political journey

LK Advani began his parliamentary career in 1970 when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He contested his first Lok Sabha election in 1989 from New Delhi, defeating Mohini Giri.
In 1991, Advani contested from two constituencies, Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat and New Delhi, and won both. He subsequently opted to represent Gandhi Nagar. He fought his last election in 2014 from the same seat.
Advani catapulted the BJP into national reckoning with his Rath Yatra for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple in the early 1990s.
Advani, who was considered to represent the hardline ideological faction of the BJP, had to resign when his name came up in connection with the Hawala diaries.
Although he was committed to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology, Ada earned the wrath of the Sangh Parivar during his visit to Pakistan in 2005, where he praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. The furore led to Advani, who was born in Karachi, stepping down as the president of the BJP.

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