The entire top brass of the BJP was present at the swearing-in ceremony of Biplab Kumar Deb as the Chief Minister of Tripura.
The visiting dignitaries included Amit Shah, LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Rajnath Singh.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on to the dais, everyone stood up and Modi offered Namaste to Amit Shah and others on stage but he completely ignored LK Advani and instead shook hands with former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar who was right beside Advani.
He chatted a while with Manik Sarkar all the while not even glancing at Advani who was standing with folded hands.
Such is politics! When AB Vajpayee wanted Narendra Modi to step down as the Chief Minister of Gujarat following the Godhra riots, it was LK Advani who defended Modi and stood by his side.
Out of respect for Advani, Vajpayee allowed Modi to continue. Had there been no Advani, there would have been no Modi.
However, the same Advani became a rival to Modi when the latter began to look in the direction of Delhi and he eventually succeeded in completely sidelining Advani.
But now that Advani is no longer a threat, he could have at least shown some respect for the patriarch and not snubbed him publicly?
After all, it was Advani’s Ratha Yatra that actually became the foundation for the BJP to emerge as a national party and carve an identity for itself?
Surely, Advani deserves better.
