LK Advani's Health Crisis: A Cautionary Tale of Political Betrayal and Legacy"
Retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Markandey Katju reflects on LK Advani's recent health struggles, highlighting the irony of his current situation after his pivotal role in BJP's rise. Once a key architect behind BJP's success, Lal Krishna Advani now faces abandonment by his political successors. Read more about Advani's journey from political strategist to sidelined veteran and the lessons in political loyalty and strategy. Full details on his hospitalizations are covered in the Hindustan Times and Economic Times.
Poor, poor Advani
By Justice Markandey Katju
The 96-year-old BJP leader LK Advani was admitted to AIIMS, Delhi due to some health issues.
However, on being discharged from AIIMS he has again been hospitalised, this time in Apollo Hospital, Delhi.
Poor Advani, the man responsible for the increase of BJP seats in the Lok Sabha from 2 in 1984 to 182 in 1999 by his crafty scheme of inciting communal passions and hatred, and polarising society, through his rath yatras and Ram Mandir agitation, which enabled BJP to come to power in the Centre, has been totally sidelined and left in the cold by his very proteges, his chelas, like Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley, whom he had once groomed. What can be more sad? Et tu Brute!
One can almost hear Advani uttering a line in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas ''तात लात रावण मोहे मारा''.
This reminds me of a story.
Once a wrestling teacher trained a young man, and after several years told him that he had taught the latter all he knew about wrestling.
On hearing this, the disciple, who had become very arrogant, challenged his teacher to a wrestling bout in the presence of a large number of people. The disciple thought that since he knew as much about wrestling as his teacher, and since he was a younger man, he could easily defeat the teacher, who had become an old man.
But soon after the bout began the teacher floored the disciple, using a wrestling hold (daon) which he had not taught the chela.
The chela then complained to his teacher that he should have been taught that hold too.
The guru replied, "My son, I knew that one day you may become arrogant and challenge me to a wrestling bout. So I taught you all the holds except this one, just in case it may be needed."
So Advani made the mistake of teaching his chelas all the 'daons' in politics. He should have kept one in reserve, just in case it was needed some day.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
