LK Advani distances self from memoirs penned by former aide

Senior BJP leader Vishwambhar Srivastava’s memoirs that recall his 32-year-old association with LK Advani, the former deputy prime minister, has elicited silence from Advani. The Hindu reported that Advani has distanced himself from Srivastava. The memoir, Advaniji ke saath 32 saal, which is being released on Friday, has been published against Advani’s “wishes”, said Deepak Chopra, secretary to Advani. “It may be worthy to note that this book does not have the consent of LK Advani and has been published against his wishes,” Chopra said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_2510118” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  LK Advani. Reuters[/caption] The book reportedly has anecdotes relating to the BJP leader’s political career, which Srivastava is said to have witnessed. In the book, Srivastava claims that Advani was staunchly opposed to nepotism in politics and refused to field his son, Jayant, from the Gandhinagar constituency for the 1989 by-election, even though he was poised to win quite effortlessly, according to a report in The Indian Express. Srivastava also wrote that Advani was not particularly happy at the sight of security by his side after he took the oath as the I&B Minister in the Janata Party on 24 March, 1977, the report added. The book that is supposed to be released by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, according to The Hindu, also gives an account of the events surrounding the Babri Masjid demolition on 6 December, 1992. Advani reportedly asked kar sevaks, who were raising the saffron flag on the domes of the Masjid, to come down once they were done. But as they were Marathi speakers, as Advani later learnt, he sent Pramod Mahajan to address the issue. But by then the damage was already done and Advani’s face fell and “he appeared distressed”, the book notes. According to another report in The Indian Express, the book was originally proposed to be released at the time of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, but Advani is reportedly said to have suggested that it was not the right time. With inputs from IANS