Those were the days and Then: Life and times
of Lal Krishna Advani released
Pramod Kumar
Advaniji has dedicated his entire life to strengthening nationalism. He always favoured and promoted the clean politics where nation is first, party is second and only then comes the individual. Following his ideals we have to further change the politics into a tool for social transformation, said BJP national president Shri Nitin Gadkari. He was releasing a book, Those were the days and Then: The life and times of Lal Kishna Advani, in New Delhi on June 12. The book has been written by Smt Mira Govind Advani (Sindhu), mother of former Chairperson of National Commission for Women, Dr Poornima Advani.
The book is based on interview with Shri Advani and the personal experience of the author. The 178 pages book has been published by Indira Ghansham Mirchandani Service Centre, Mumbai. Though Shri Advani was himself not present at the function, many senior party leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Smt Sushma Swaraj, former party president Shri Rajnath Singh, former Union Minister Shri Jashwant Singh, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra and national secretary of BJP Shri Shyam Jaju were also present on the occasion. Senior advocate Monica Arora conducted the proceedings.
Releasing the book, Shri Gadkari further said had it not been the sacrifices by leaders such as Shri LK Advani and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, an ordinary person like him would not have risen to the top post of the party. “Good days are when the party is in power. But Shri Advani was there when people were not willing to contest on a Jan Sangh ticket; he rode against the wave with leaders like Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It helped people like me to reach the top (in the party hierarchy)…had they not worked so hard, we would not have witnessed this day (when BJP is a major political force),” Shri Gadkari said.
He further said most period in the life of Shri Advani passed fighting against the waves but he never lost the moral values. “His personality, work and leadership are ideals before all the party workers. He gave us slogans like ‘Party with a Difference’, ‘Justice to all, Appeasement of none’, etc,” Shri Gadkari added.
Smt Sushma Swaraj described Advaniji like a banyan tree under whom many people have found shelter. “This is his personality, he has helped juniors grow. He is unlike those who feel insecure. Advaniji has not been like the leaders who cut the ‘roots’ of upcoming leaders and rather nurtured many to reach the top. In my 30 years of association with him, I could never find a fault with him,” she said adding that the book provides many yet undiscovered aspects of Shri Advani’s life.
She said the book has been written by the lady who has seen and understood Advaniji very closely. Apart from explaining the sufferings and pain of the Partition, the book is also an emotional reading of present problems like corruption and terrorism. “We were not aware so far that Advaniji was also a school teacher for some time. There are many such yet undiscovered incidents which have been mentioned in the book,” she said.
Shri Jashwant Singh said Advaniji lived his life based on morals and principles and his values can be emulated by all politicians. This will also provide inspiration to the young generation.
Shri Rajnath Singh said no one has been able to accuse Advaniji of corruption or nepotism in these so many decades. “Once he was accused in the hawala deal. While people knew he was being framed, he vowed not to return to Parliament till the charges against him were dropped. Do we see such politicians today,” he asked. He credited Shri Advani and other veterans for turning BJP into a stronger force than the Congress. He said Advaniji has always stood for principles.
Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra described Shri Advani as a representative of nationalism. He said the book highlights many untouched aspects of Shri Advani’s life. “It is a good document that also provides vital information about Emergency and the growth of the BJP,” he added.
Smt Poornima Advani clarified that Shri Advaniji stayed away from the function as he felt that it would be “embarrassing” to attend the launch of a book on him. Introducing the book Smt Mira Govind Advani said the book contains Shri Advanji’s journey from pre-Partition days to the present. Prior to this books she has written a book on Dada JP Vasvani and is working on a book on noted lawyer Shri Ram Jethmalani. She is former member of Maharashtra Tax Tribunal.
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