An Open Letter to L K Advani
Dear Shri Advaniji,
In 1990 when the nation was going through the second-most turbulent
phase of internal strife after the Emergency, you revolutionised the politics of
the land and gave the country a viable alternative to the Congress. You played a
pivotal role in installing the first non-Congress government that completed its
full term. You inspired a whole generation of younger leaders and have perhaps
mentored more young politicians and activists than any other leader did in the
country.
In 1994, at the peak of your popularity, you showed amazing
selflessness and foresight in proposing Vajpayeeji as BJP's PM candidate. In
1996 when your name was dragged into the hawala scam, you took the most
principled stand of quitting Parliament and not contesting elections until your
name was cleared. Throughout Vajpayeeji's tenure as PM, your hands-on
involvement in the formulation and execution of almost all important government
policies, did not escape notice. In 2009, at 81, you fought a valiant and
spirited battle against a truly 'weak PM'.
As someone who has followed you very closely since 1990 and for
whom you have been an inspiration, I really wanted to see you as India's PM. In
a country which has suffered lightweight PMs like H D Deve Gowda, I K Gujral and
Manmohan Singh, you are clearly someone who had exceptional credentials to hold
that coveted post. Besides, I am sure that with your nationalist approach and
your clarity of thought, you would have been one of India's better PMs.
In fact when I met you in April this year, I was pleasantly
surprised to see you as energetic, involved and sharp as ever. Clearly, while
you seemed to be stoic, you still wanted to run for the PM's office. And as
someone who has been a great fan of your perseverance and work ethics, I was
once again tempted to see you occupy the PMO.
However, one of the biggest battles that mankind has ever confronted is between his own heart and mind. You and I were perhaps thinking from our hearts. On the other hand, the practical realities which have unfolded in the last few days, is the inevitable truth.
Today, India needs someone as ruthless, shrewd and tenacious as
Modi to unseat the Congress for the next 10 years. All those who rooted for Modi
in Goa did not by any means favour him over you. Nor were they all necessarily
die-hard Modi fans. Rather, they saw in him a younger you. They placed their bet
on someone who hurts the Congress the most on the given day. It was a call
necessitated by the need to conclusively end the menace of Congress rule in the
country.
I feel that as someone who has been Modi's mentor, your support to this historic move would have brought more joy to the party and the country. Given your indefatigable energy and your zest to contribute to the nation, I am pretty upbeat that your best is yet to come.
As an eternal optimist, I am hopeful of seeing you occupy the
Rashtrapati Bhawan instead in 2017. That will be the most apt crescendo to sign
off your political career. While age does not seem to be your side, I am
confident you will continue to defy it.
Yours sincerely,
Tuhin A Sinha
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