Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani may fancy himself as another Sardar Patel back home, but it was Jawaharlal Nehru who was the object of his ardent admiration here today.First in the course of his address on ‘Indo-US relations in a Strategic Perspective’, under the auspices of the World Affairs Council, and then in course of answers to questions from members of his distinguished audience afterwards, Advani credited Nehru with the introduction and consolidation of democracy in India.Contrary to his known perception of Nehru, he was rather magnanimous in showering praise on the first prime minister. He had high words for Patel too, but he sought to underline the role of Nehru as a pioneer in ushering democracy in the country.He would have certainly not designed this, but by way of sheer coincidence, Advani’s acknowledgement of Nehru’s primacy in the foundation of democratic India, if seen in the context of recent intra-BJP developments, underlines the primacy of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. It also signifies another conscious attempt by Advani to shed his image of a hardliner to increase his acceptability as a future prime minister.Deviating from the prepared text of his speech, Advani — while underlining the similarity between India and the US as ‘‘two natural democracies’’ — said that India, thanks to Nehru, ‘‘became a vibrant and vigorous democracy after Independence’’. Heaping on the praise, he added: ‘‘It established a democratic polity with a Constitution that enshrined the rights and liberties of people, blending them with age-old human values and a vision of social equality and justice. This early vision has blossomed into a firmly rooted, secular, federal, multi-party political system.’’ When called upon to ask questions later, a local businessman pointed out to Advani that he was compared with Sardar Patel, but he was talking like Nehru. The Deputy Prime Minister replied: ‘‘Both Nehru and Patel were giants. Let us not compare them. Nehru was greatly responsible for introducing a vibrant and vigorous democracy in the country. Had Patel not been around, the unification of the country, which is seen today, would not have taken place.’’In reply to another question, Advani said: ‘‘It is a great tribute to the wisdom of the Congress leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Patel that when one part of the country upon Partition chose theocracy, India committed itself to secularism.’’The Deputy Prime Minister also avoided giving a categorical answer to a tricky question on the BJP’s failure to honour its commitment to abolish Article 370 that grants a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He said the NDA Government did not have a majority in the two Houses of Parliament to even enact a simple law and therefore, could not move any constitutional amendment needed for knocking off Article 370. Pressed on the matter, he just said: ‘‘The Government has formulated a certain response to Jammu and Kashmir, which is yielding results.’’There were some uncomfortable moments when a TV journalist from Pakistan raised the issue of Advani’s involvement in the demolition of the Babri Masjid and talked about the ‘‘rape of 40,000 women in Kashmir’’. Advani said any fresh controversy on the Babri Masjid issue would not help. As for the supposed rapes in Kashmir, he said: ‘‘I think these are not facts.’’If there was one issue on which Advani did not pull punches, it was Pakistan. ‘‘The epicentre of international terrorism lies in India’s immediate neighbourhood,’’ he said. ‘‘It gives me no joy in pointing fingers, but the involvement of our neighbour can no longer be ignored. India and the United States have to work in active partnership to defeat the menace of terrorism fuelled by religious extremism. I would say that this is an important component in the strategic relationship between our two countries because jehadi terrorism is a threat to not only the security of our two countries, but to peace and tranquility around the world.’’What must have gladdened his heart is that at these words, the entire audience cheered, even as the Pakistan Consul-General, present among the audience, squirmed.
