NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata party has “never regarded those who disagree with us politically as anti-national” and the party has always defended “democracy and democratic traditions,” party veteran and one of its founders L.K. Advani said on Thursday.
Denied an election ticket from Gandhinagar this time, the senior leader broke his silence on Thursday in a blog titled ‘Nation first, party next, self last’ in which he talked about protecting “independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media.” He also urged that the party to look "look back, look ahead and look within".
“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,” he said.
Advani’s views assume significance at a time when the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have made the issue of national security a key plank for the general elections and have often accused its political rivals of speaking the language of India's enemies like Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the veteran leader perfectly summed up the true essence of the party.
"Advani Ji perfectly sums up the true essence of 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," PM Modi tweeted.
Many BJP leaders have also often used terms like "anti-national" to target opposition leaders. Very recently, BJP chief Amit Shah termed the Congress manifesto anti-national and an insult to soldiers.
In the piece, Advani also stressed on "democracy and democratic traditions" within.
Advani also talked about media freedom saying, “BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media.” This assumes significance as there is a perception of muzzling of media in recent times.
Advani, one of the party's founder members, was speaking out for the first time after the party announced the decision to field Amit Shah from Advani's traditional Gandhinagar seat.
The 91-year old leader also said that "Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the Party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP."
"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," he said.
Referring more than once to internal democracy, he said: "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."
Advani, who was Deputy Prime Minister in the BJP government that Atal Behari Vajpayee led nearly two decades ago, was apparently hurt at the way he was denied ticket. The party has dropped many leaders on the basis of its 75-plus age ban, but Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi had been exceptions in 2014. But while the BJP scored big in those elections, the old-timers were eased out of decision-making and made members of a mentors' club, the "Margadarshak Mandal".
He also thanked Gandhinagar for sending him to the Lok Sabha six times since 1991. "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," Advani said.
The BJP stalwart had played a major role in the revival of the party after the debacle in 1984 when it won only two seats. He won six times from Gandhinagar, the first time in 1991 and the last five elections since 1998 consecutively.
Advani had embarked on a rath yatra a year after winning first from Gandhinagar to push for the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.