New Delhi, February 3: Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh on Saturday recounted events of 2002 and highlighted BJP veteran LK Advani backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister. Speaking on Advani being conferred with Bharat Ratna, the Congress leader said, "In 2002, Advani ji saved Narendra Modi ji."

Ramesh elucidated on the episode of 2002 when the then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee considered the removal of the then-Chief Minister Modi from his office and how Advani backed the then-CM Modi. Bharat Ratna to Lal Krishna Advani: Veteran BJP Leader Issues Statement, Says He Accept Country’s Highest Civilian Award With ‘Utmost Humility and Gratitude’.

Bharat Ratna to Lal Krishna Advani

"The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji had reminded the then Chief Minister of Gujarat of his Raj Dharma and was about to remove him from that post. You will remember in Goa, but if one person had saved that Chief Minister it was Advani ji," the Congress leader remarked.

Ramesh also reminded the BJP veteran terming PM Modi as a "brilliant event manager" in 2014 attributing to the latter's organisational prowess. "In Goa, 2014, on 5 April 2014, the scene is in Gandhinagar, Narendra Modi ji and Lal Krishna Advani ji are there, they are going to file nomination papers for the elections. Then Advani ji has given a very famous statement which is a golden statement in our Indian history. It will be written in letters, what did he say?" Ramesh said. LK Advani To Get Bharat Ratna: Glad Advani Will Get Bharat Ratna, He Contributed Greatly Towards India’s Development, Says NCP President Sharad Pawar.

"On April 5, 2014, he said, 'Narendra Modi is not my disciple, he is a brilliant event manager. We have not given this word, this was coined by Advani ji about Narendra Modi ji in Gandhinagar on April 5, 2014,'" recounted Jairam Ramesh. "When I see Advani ji and Modi ji, these two things come to my mind, Narendra Modi was saved by Advani ji. It was in 2002 and in 2014 Advani ji presented the real form of our Prime Minister in front of the people of our country," he added.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi announced that BJP veteran leader LK Advani will be conferred with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country. Veteran BJP leader LK Advani said that Bharat Ratna is not only an honour for him but for the ideals and principles he strove in his life to the best of his abilities.

In a statement, LK Advani said he accepts the 'Bharat Ratna' with utmost humility. "With utmost humility and gratitude, I accept the 'Bharat Ratna' that has been conferred on me today. It is not only an honour for me as a person, but also for the ideals and principles that I strove to serve throughout my life to the best of my ability," he said in the statement.

Advani, 96, who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister and Information and Broadcasting Minister, recalled his long association with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. "My heartfelt gratitude to millions of my party workers, swayamsevaks and others with whom I had the privilege of working throughout my journey in public life," he added.