President pays LK Advani a Bharat Ratna and praises his contribution to the Ram Mandir cause

At his home on Sunday, President Droupadi Murmu gave LK Advani, 97, the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Advani’s relatives were present during the official event.

“LK Advani, a doyen of Indian politics, has served the nation with unwavering dedication and distinction for over seven decades,” the President stated, presenting Advani with the honor. Advani, who was born in Karachi on November 8, 1927, moved to India in 1947 in the midst of the Partition.

He worked tirelessly for decades, traveling the length and width of the nation with his vision of cultural nationalism, changing the socio-political landscape. The President said that the unwavering champion inside him protected India’s democracy against authoritarian impulses when the Emergency threatened it. As a legislator, she said that Advani’s focus on communication enhanced parliamentary customs.

He always placed the interests of the country above everything else, whether in his capacity as Home Minister or Deputy Prime Minister, winning him respect and affection from people of all political stripes. The President said, “His long and relentless battle for India’s cultural rebirth ended with the Ram Temple in Ayodhya being rebuilt in 2024.

She said that his achievements provide the clearest expression of India’s brilliance and inclusive traditions of all the post-Independence political leaders who were able to reshape the national agenda and set it on the road of growth.

The citation that was given to LK Advani details his rise through the political ranks from BJP founding member to deputy prime minister of India.

The longest tenure in the BJP’s history as president was served by Advani, who led the organization for five terms. He began serving in parliament in 1970 and served four terms in the Rajya Sabha and seven terms in the Lok Sabha. From the periphery to the forefront of national politics, he guided the BJP.

The citation reads, “He succeeded in transforming India’s polity from being unipolar to bipolar with the formation of two consecutive BJP-led NDA governments at the Centre in 1998 and 1999.”