MyVoice: Views of our readers 5th February 2024

Advani’s great contribution to nation

With only two members elected for Parliament in 1984 on the name of Jana Sangh emphasising its close relation with Janata Party and propagating Gandhian Socialism, its petals blossomed widely with untiring efforts of BJP and RSS. Advani in association with AB Vajpayee brought the party to limelight in the name of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. LKA was Dy Prime Minister when ABV was PM. He did not receive high honours from Narendra Modi government as observed in media. He was instrumental in demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 which finally culminated in construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It is believed that his contributions to the party and nation are neither praised nor remembered nor was his advice ever sought for a decade.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad

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The sudden announcement of Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award to L K Advani, though surprising, is well-deserved due to his great Ratha Yatra and immense contribution to the RSS-BJP led NDA coming to power at the Centre. The BJP stalwart and former Dy Prime Minister Advaniji responded to Bharat Ratna award conferred on him as ‘Honour for me and my ideas and principles.’ It speaks true quality of his statesmanship. Similarly, the Central government should also consider awarding Bharat Ratna posthumously to PV and NTR

Ganti Venkata Sudhir, Secunderabad

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The legacy of politicisation of nation’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna continues to get stronger contrary to belief when BJP came to power in 2014. While at the drop of hat, the BJP slights Congress legacy. It isn’t clear why the politics over Bharat Ratna have not been discontinued. There is no point for the name sake to give Bharat Ratna to non-politicians which is still nominated with vote bank in mind. After Karpoori Thakur, now senior BJP leader LK Advani whose dream to become PM got never fulfilled and team Modi managed to send him to retirement home. There is no doubt Advani was instrumental in using Lord Ram to increase the number of seats which his sarathi has consolidated further now. For India as such, Advani’s contribution is nothing except his yatra ended in a trail of death in many parts of India and the divide now has further widened.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

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I would have been more happy if Bharat Ratna award has been conferred to freedom fighter like Subhash Chandra Bose, Raj Guru, Bhagath Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandra Shekar Azad. Advani never fought freedom struggle, instead he was in RSS and serving the British empire. When our freedom fighters were fighting for the freedom of this country, he was enjoying the benefits given by the British. Now BJP gives Bharat Ratna for its own party men. No doubt Advani was been instrumental into building the BJP as a national political force. He became the force of Ram Janmabhoomi movement. PM Narendra Modi says that Advani continuously fought to get democracy out of one party’s grasp and guided every one. But I don’t understand in what way Advanis contribution was useful to our country. Advani was ignored by Modi and BJP and was not even remembered for the Pran Prathishta ceremony.

Zakir Hussain, Kazipet

AI success hinges on skills devp, infra

The collaboration between the Telangana government and 3AI stands out as commendable, working towards positioning Hyderabad as a global center for AI excellence. The recent leadership roundtable focusing on creating a supportive ecosystem for Gen AI adoption demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to meet the evolving demands of AI and related innovations. While there are exciting prospects for AI in Hyderabad, challenges such as addressing skill gap, building infrastructure, establishing regulations, fostering collaboration, ensuring data privacy, overcoming adoption barriers, and promoting a conducive ecosystem need careful navigation for the initiative’s full success.

Dr Krishna Kumar Vepakomma, Hyderabad

INDIA must build alternative narrative

The sole objective of the creation of INDIA bloc is to defeat BJP. But it does not provide any hope of a better alternative. Its writ does not carry conviction among masses. It has to shift gears to earn support by presenting a plausible frame work. This in a way is a good defeat - a kind of wake-up call for Congress and INDIA alliance. Electoral politics is about arithmetic and emotional reason and INDIA needs to get both right. The narrative for Hindutva is secular and inclusiveness and not less Hindutva. A clarion call.

Jayanthy Subramaniam, Mumbai