Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that BJP stalwart and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
“One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister,” Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
While many BJP leaders and leaders of Opposition parties congratulated Advani, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday mocked the Union government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna to the senior Hindutva leader.
In a post on X, Owaisi said, “Well deserved Bharat Ratna for LK Advani. The graves of Indians who lost their lives in violence are nothing but stepping stones.”
In the post, Owaisi also attached a map of India, showing the “places affected by Advani’s Rath Yatra from September 23 to November 5, 1990.”
The hardcore Hindutva politician who is infamous for his countryside anti-Muslim campaigns, had launched his Rath Yatra, on September 25, 1990, to build support for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Hundreds of Muslims were killed during the Yatra.
