BJP never regarded those disagreeing with it as 'anti-national', 'enemies': L K Advani
New Delhi, Apr 4: Veteran BJP leader L K Advani said Thursday that his party has never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as "anti-national" or "enemies" but only as adversaries, remarks which come at a time when top BJP leaders have used anti-national barbs against political rivals on the issue of national security.
Advani, who has been replaced by party president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, wrote a blog 'Nation First, Party Next, Self Last' ahead of the party's foundation day on April 6, in which he said, "The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression."
In the blog, written almost five years after he posted the last piece on its web page, the 91-year-old leader 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'. The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level," he added.
His comments assume significance as top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, have been attacking opposition parties with anti-national barbs in the aftermath of Balakot air strikes.
Advani is one of the BJP founders and its longest-serving president. He has been elected from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat six times since 1991.
Reacting to Advani's blog, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Advani Ji perfectly sums up the true essence of BJP, most notably the guiding Mantra of Nation First, Party Next, Self Last.' Proud to be a BJP Karyakarta and proud that greats like LK Advani Ji have strengthened it."
While he did not offered any direct comment on his party's decision to not field him in the polls, Advani conveyed his "most sincere gratitude" to the people of Gandhinagar.
Defence of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the party and in the larger national setting, has been the "proud hallmark" of the BJP, he said adding, therefore, the BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media.
Electoral reforms, with 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.
As one of the party's founders, he said he deemed it his duty to share his reflections with the people of India, and more specifically with the millions of BJP workers, "both of whom have indebted me with their affection and respect.''
Asserting that the triad of 'satya' (truth), 'rashtra nishtha' (dedication to the nation) and 'loktantra' (democracy, both within and outside the party) guided the BJP's struggle-filled evolution, Advani said the sum total of all these values constitute cultural nationalism and good governance.
"The heroic struggle against the Emergency rule was precisely to uphold the above values," he said.
Commenting on the Lok Sabha polls, he said elections are an occasion for honest introspection by all the stake-holders in Indian democracy - political parties, mass media, authorities conducting the election process and, above all, the electorate.
Advani also recalled his long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and said serving the motherland has been his passion and mission ever since he joined it at the age of 14 years.
The former deputy prime minister was made a member of BJP's 'Margdarshak Mandal' (group of mentors) along with another senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi, soon after Modi came to power in 2014 and Shah took over as the party president. This was seen as easing out of these leaders from active roles by the new party leadership.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
