Bharat Ratna LK Advani shattered many stereotypes, breached boundaries in Indian politics

New Delhi, March 31 (IANS) The gates of 30 Prithviraj Road in Delhi on Sunday opened to welcome President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, and a host of other dignitaries to script a glorious chapter in the life and times of 96-year-old former Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, by conferring the Bharat Ratna award on the BJP stalwart.Coincidentally, the nation’s highest civilian award was given to Advani at his official residence on Easter Sunday, the day the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed in 1980.Those who have known Advani closely have often heard an interesting anecdote.The Jan Sangh, which had merged with the Janata Party in 1976 separated from it because of the bickering noises over “dual membership” (continued alignment with the RSS despite being in Janata Party) on April 4, 1980, on Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified. And it came in a new avatar, re-christened as the Bharatiya Janata Party, on April 6, 1980, on Easter Sunday, the day celebrated for Jesus’ resurrection.Advani, along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was the founder of the BJP. And the symbolism of it was never missed by him.India and Indian