Bhubaneswar: BJP patriarch and former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred India’s top most civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’.
It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday on his ‘X’ handle.
LK Advani is the most respected statesmen of our times, the Prime Minister said, adding that his contribution to the India’s development was monumental, Modi stated on X.
“I am very happy to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this honour,” PM Modi said on X.
Advani has served as the Deputy Prime Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, besides heading several ministries like Home and I&B. He has been a member of both Houses of Parliament between 1970 and 2019.
“His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights,” said PM Modi.
Advani is widely credited as one of the tallest leaders who scripted BJP’s rise from ‘oblivion to prominence’. It was after his Rath Yatra in 1990s that catapulted the saffron party into national politics.
For the unversed, LK Advani is the second BJP stalwart to be conferred with Bharat Ratna. Prior to him, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also honored with Bharat Ratna in 2015.