The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never regarded those who disagreed with it as anti-national, L.K. Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister and a founding member of the party, wrote in a blog. The BJP has denied Mr. Advani ticket to contest from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, which elected him six times to the Lok Sabha.
“...in our conception of Indian nationalism, we have never regarded those who disagree with us politically as anti-national. The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level,” Mr. Advani said in an apparent reference to statements from senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to the Opposition as anti-nationals.
Mr. Modi has repeatedly stated that Pakistan and his political opponents are working in tandem to defeat him. BJP president Amit Shah, who replaced Mr. Advani as the candidate in Gandhinagar, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have in recent days said the Opposition is trying to break India.
“The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our ‘enemies’, but only as our adversaries,” Mr. Advani, a pioneer of the Hindutva movement in India, wrote. Mr. Modi, Mr. Jaitley and a host of other current leaders of the BJP were proteges of Mr. Advani.
Mr. Advani said throughout his political career, which started as an RSS volunteer at the age of 14, he followed the principle of “Nation first, party next, self last”. “Serving the Motherland has been my passion and my mission ever since I joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of 14. My political life has been inseparably associated with my party for nearly seven decades — first with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and later with the Bharatiya Janata Party and I have been a founding member of both,” he said, recalling that he had worked closely with Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and “many other great, inspiring and selfless leaders”.
Touching upon several points on which the Modi-Shah leadership of the BJP is facing criticism, Mr. Advani said: “Defence of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP. Therefore BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media. Electoral reforms, with special focus on transparency in political and electoral funding, which is so essential for a corruption-free polity, has been another priority for our party.”
The veteran asked his party colleagues to “look back, look ahead and look within.”
Modi tweet
In his response, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that Mr. Advani perfectly summed up the true essence of the BJP, most notably the guiding mantra of “Nation first, party next, self last”.
“Proud to be a BJP Karyakarta and proud that greats like LK Advani Ji have strengthened it,” he added
Here is the full text of his blog post :
“On April 6th, the BJP will celebrate its Foundation Day. This is an important occasion for all of us in the BJP to look back, look ahead and look within. As one of the Founders of the BJP, I deem it to be my duty to share my reflections with the people of India, and more specifically with the millions of workers of my Party, both of whom have indebted me with their affection and respect.
“Before I share my thoughts, I take this opportunity to convey my most sincere gratitude to the people of Gandhinagar, who have elected me to the Lok Sabha six times since 1991. Their love and support has always overwhelmed me.
“Serving the Motherland has been my passion and my mission ever since I joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of 14. My political life has been inseparably associated with my Party for nearly seven decades – first with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and later with the Bharatiya Janata Party and I have been a founding member of both. It has been my rare privilege to work closely with stalwarts like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many other great, inspiring and self-less leaders.
“The guiding principle of my life has been ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last.’ And in all situations, I have tried to adhere to this principle and will continue to do so.
“The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our “enemies”, but only as our adversaries. Similarly, in our conception of Indian nationalism, we have never regarded those who disagree with us politically as “anti-national”. The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level.
“Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the Party and in the larger national setting,has been the proud hallmark of the BJP. Therefore BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media. Electoral reforms, with special focus on transparency in political and electoral funding, which is so essential for a corruption-free polity, has been another priority for our Party.
“In short, the triad of Satya (truth), Rashtra Nishtha (dedication to the Nation) and Loktantra (democracy, both within and outside the Party) guided the struggle-filled evolution of my Party.The sum total of all these values constitutes Sanskritik Rashtravad (Cultural Nationalism) and Su-Raj (good governance), to which my Party has always remained wedded. The heroic struggle against the Emergengy rule was precisely to uphold the above values.
“It is my sincere desire that all of us should collectively strive to strengthen the democratic edifice of India. True, elections are a festival of democracy. But they are also an occasion for honest introspection by all the stakeholders in Indian democracy – political parties, mass media, authorities conducting the election process and, above all, the electorate.”
