Claiming that the guiding principle of his life has been “Nation first, party next, self last”, BJP leader LK Advani on Thursday said the saffron party had never regarded those with a different political stand as its “enemies” or “anti-national”.
Claiming that the guiding principle of his life has been “Nation first, party next, self last”, BJP leader LK Advani on Thursday said the saffron party had never regarded those with a different political stand as its “enemies” or “anti-national”.
In a blog post ahead of the BJP’s foundation day, Advani said, “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.”
Advani, who has been replaced by BJP chief Amit Shah for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, further mentioned in his post that the party was committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level. Barring 1996 Lok Sabha polls, the Gandhinagar seat was won by Advani six times since 1991.
“Defence of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP,” the former Union Minister said.
Amid Opposition criticism that the ruling BJP was destroying the country’s institutions, Advani said the party had always been at the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness, and robustness of democratic institutions, including the media.
“Electoral reforms, with a 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,” Advani said.
Besides being a “festival of democracy”, Advani said, elections were also an occasion for honest introspection by all stakeholders in democracy — political parties, media, authorities conducting the election process and the electorate.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Advani’s views about extending democratic courtesies was significant. “As the senior most politician, former Dy PM and founding father of BJP, the views Advani ji has expressed about extending democratic courtesies, is significant. Of course, all Opposition who raise their voices are not anti-national. We welcome his statement and convey our humble regards,” she tweeted.
In a blog post ahead of the BJP’s foundation day, Advani said, “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.”
Advani, who has been replaced by BJP chief Amit Shah for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, further mentioned in his post that the party was committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level. Barring 1996 Lok Sabha polls, the Gandhinagar seat was won by Advani six times since 1991.
“Defence of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP,” the former Union Minister said.
Amid Opposition criticism that the ruling BJP was destroying the country’s institutions, Advani said the party had always been at the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness, and robustness of democratic institutions, including the media.
“Electoral reforms, with a 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,” Advani said.
Besides being a “festival of democracy”, Advani said, elections were also an occasion for honest introspection by all stakeholders in democracy — political parties, media, authorities conducting the election process and the electorate.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Advani’s views about extending democratic courtesies was significant. “As the senior most politician, former Dy PM and founding father of BJP, the views Advani ji has expressed about extending democratic courtesies, is significant. Of course, all Opposition who raise their voices are not anti-national. We welcome his statement and convey our humble regards,” she tweeted.