New Delhi: Fomer Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"I am very 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 conferned this honour. One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is 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 ways been exemplary, full of rich insights," Modi wrote in a post, while announcing the decision.

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Later in the day, in Odisha's Sambalpur, Modi said the Bharat Ratna to Advani, is an honour to the ideology of 'nation first'.
Addressing a rally he said Advani challenged dynasty politics and connected India's democracy to all-inclusive and nationalist ideologies. "Advani continuously fought to get democracy out of one party's grasp and guided everyone. He challenged dynasty politics and connected India's democracy to all-inclusive and nationalist ideologies," he said.

The honour is a testament to the fact that the county never forgets those who dedicate their lives in its service, Modi said.

Previous recipients of Bharat Ratna include, C Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C V Raman, Lal Bahadur Shastri, MGR, M S Subbalakshmi, Mother Teresa, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Nelson Mandela and Pranab Mukherjee, among others. 

Recenlty the Government also decided to honour freedom fighter, politician and former Chief Minister of Bihar Karpoori Thakur with the award posthumously.

Crafted and shaped Hindutva politics
The principal architect of the BJP's rise as a major national political party as he tied its fortunes with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 80s, Advani, 96, crafted and shaped the Hindutva politics, and spearheaded the party and its forerunner Jana Sangh for decades along with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Born in Karachi in the undivided India, he joined the RSS and then the Jana Sangh since the latter's foundation. 

Advani led the Rath Yatra that ended in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. PM Modi Modi had stood beside Advani during the Yatra from its Gujarat leg.

In a soon-to-be-published interview given to Rashtra Dharma, a right-wing publication, Advani has said Modi was "chosen by Lord Ram to renovate the temple".

"Today the Rath Yatra completed 33 years. When we started the Rath Yatra on the morning of September 25, 1990, we did not know that the faith in Lord Ram with which we were starting this Yatra would take the form of a movement in the country," a source quoted Advani as saying in his article.
(With PTI inputs)

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