Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday.
“One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental,” Modi said in a social media post. “His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our deputy prime minister.”
The prime minister said that Advani’s decades-long public service “has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political ethics”.
“He has made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence,” Modi added.
Advani, the BJP’s longest-serving president, has been credited for the Hindutva party’s rise during the 1990s when it first came to power with coalition governments.