NEW DELHI: Senior Congress chief and MP Shashi Tharoor has as soon as once more appeared to show a delicate nook for the ruling BJP, this time praising its veteran chief and former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Tharoor not solely lauded Advani’s many years of public service but additionally defended his political legacy, drawing a parallel between him and former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He mentioned that simply as Nehru shouldn’t be judged solely by the “China setback” and Indira Gandhi not solely by the Emergency, the identical equity ought to be prolonged to one of many BJP’s founding members.“Lowering his lengthy years of service to 1 episode, nevertheless vital, can be unfair. The totality of Nehruji’s profession can’t be judged by the China setback, nor Indira Gandhi’s by the Emergency alone. I consider we should always prolong the identical courtesy to Advaniji,” Tharoor wrote on X.His remarks got here as he wished Advani on his 98th birthday on November 8, praising his “unwavering dedication to public service, modesty and decency,” and calling him “a real statesman.” “Wishing the venerable Shri LK Advani a really completely happy 98th birthday! His unwavering dedication to public service, his modesty & decency, and his position in shaping the trajectory of contemporary India are indelible. A real statesman whose lifetime of service has been exemplary,” Tharoor wrote.
Nevertheless, Tharoor’s tribute sparked criticism on-line, with a number of customers accusing him of “whitewashing” Advani’s political legacy. Supreme Courtroom advocate Sanjay Hegde hit out at Tharoor, saying, “Sorry Mr Tharoor, unleashing the ‘dragon seeds of hatred’ (to cite Khushwant Singh) on this nation is NOT public service,” in reference to Advani’s 1990 Ram Rath Yatra.Responding to the criticism, Tharoor reiterated his stance, arguing for a broader view of Advani’s profession. Hegde, nevertheless, countered that the Rath Yatra “was not an episode” however “an extended march to reverse the foundational ideas of the Indian Republic,” including, “It set the stage for 2002 and 2014 and thereafter. Like Draupadi’s dishonour set the stage for the Mahabharata that adopted, the Rathyatra and its legacy of violence proceed to hang-out the future of this nation.”Earlier the identical day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bharat Ratna Advani at his residence in New Delhi to convey birthday greetings. Describing him as “a statesman blessed with towering imaginative and prescient and mind,” PM Modi wrote on X, “Advani Ji’s life has been devoted to strengthening India’s progress. He has all the time embodied the spirit of selfless obligation and steadfast ideas. His contributions have left an indelible mark on India’s democratic and cultural panorama. Might he be blessed with good well being and an extended life.”Advani’s Ram Rath Yatra, launched from Somnath in Gujarat on September 25, 1990, and halted in Bihar by then chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, was probably the most defining and divisive occasions in Indian politics. The marketing campaign, which referred to as for the development of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, led to Advani’s arrest on the orders of then Prime Minister VP Singh.Two years later, on December 6, 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished, an occasion that reshaped the political and communal panorama of India. Greater than three many years later, on January 22, 2024, the Ram Mandir was inaugurated, with Prime Minister Modi performing the pran pratishtha ceremony, marking the end result of the motion Advani had as soon as led.