Veteran BJP leader L K Advani said on Thursday that his party has never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as "anti-national" or "enemies" but only as adversaries. Saying that ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last' is the guiding principle of his life, Advani said the essence of the Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression.
"The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our "enemies", but only as our adversaries. Similarly, in our conception of Indian nationalism, we have never regarded those who disagree with us politically as "anti-national". The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level," the blog post read.
L K Advani says "Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the Party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP. Therefore BJP has always been in the forefront of demanding protection of independence, integrity, fairness and robustness of all our democratic institutions, including the media. Electoral reforms, with special focus on transparency in political and electoral funding, which is so essential for a corruption-free polity, has been another priority for our Party," Advani further wrote.