The BJP’s “lauh purush (iron man)” L.K. Advani turned emotional on his birthday on Tuesday and even had to leave the dais for few minutes to regain his composure. At a function organised at his official residence, Mr Advani, who turned 84, was seen wiping tears when party colleagues praised him for his contribution towards Indian politics and the BJP.
Former party chief Rajnath Singh, while praising him, raised the contentious issue of the party’s prime ministerial candidate calling Mr Advani a “natural choice” for the post.
Taking a break from his ongoing Janchetna Yatra, Mr Advani said he was in tears as he cannot bear too much praise or criticism. Mr Advani, remembering former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, said he was “in awe” of Mr Vajpayee’s oratorial skills and used to suffer from “inferiority complex” over the issue.
“You people must have seen that during the programme I was in tears.... All these leaders have praised me as a family member praises a head of the family,” he said.
Mr Advani said he was able to bear all the exertion of 38-day-long nationwide yatra against corruption at such an advanced age as he had undergone rigorous training as a RSS worker.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were present on the occasion.
Thanking party colleagues, Mr Advani said he had been receiving support from both his party and the Sangh Parivar. Referring to the RSS as his “ideological family”, Mr Advani remembered how he has been a “Swayamsewak” (RSS worker) since the age of 14.
Remembering Mr Vajpayee, Mr Advani said: “I had told Atal Behari Vajpayee in early 1970s that I have developed an inferiority complex due to your speeches... I tell the same to Sushma Swaraj also. I really mean it,” Mr Advani said.