Advani turns 90, greeted by political leaders across spectrum

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) BJP veteran L.K. Advani, who turned 90 on Wedensday, was greeted on his birthday by leaders across political spectrum with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that his efforts had richly contributed to building of the party.

Those who greeted the nonagenarian leader included former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad.

Advani, a former Deputy Prime Minister, started his day by greeting 90 blind children at his residence and took breakfast with them.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were among those who personally visited Advani's residence to greet him.

Besides them, rebel JD-U leader Sharad Yadav, former Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh, senior Congress leaders Kamal Nath, Karan Singh and Rajiv Shukla also visited Advani's residence and greeted the veteran leader.

"Visited residence of former Dy. PM, Hon'ble Shri L.K. Advani ji and conveyed my best wishes on his Birthday. May god bless him and I wish him good health and a very meaningful long life," Venkaiah Naidu said in a series of tweets.

Mukherjee also extended his "warm birthday greetings."

"May you be blessed with good health and many more years in service to the nation," he tweeted.

Modi conveyed his greetings in a series of tweets and also sent a personal letter to Advani wishing him on the day.

"Birthday greetings to respected Advani Ji. I pray that he is blessed with good health and a long life," he said.

Describing Advani as a political stalwart, Modi said: "He is a leader who has distinguished himself through hard work and dedication towards our nation. We BJP karyakartas are fortunate to always receive the guidance of Advani Ji. His efforts have contributed richly to the building of BJP."

Lalu Prasad took a veiled dig at Modi in his congratulatory tweet, saying Advani should not mind his disciple turning "hostile."

"Warm Birthday greetings to Advani Ji! Never mind if any disciple turns hostile. May God bless you more cheerful, healthy, long & successful life ahead!"

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and BJP General Secretary, Organisation, Ramlal were also among those who visited Advani's residence at Prithviraj Road in central Delhi to wish him.

"Wishing Sh Advani ji on his birthday. A great leader himself and a mentor to many of us. May God grant him a long and healthy life to guide the nation," Ananth Kumar tweeted and shared a photograph of him touching Advani's feet.

"Happy Birthday, Advani ji. Have a lovely day," Rahul Gandhi said in his tweet.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Advani had been a mentor and a guide.

"B'day Greetings to Shri LK Advani. Wishing him long life, good health & happiness. Mentor and guide to us individually and @BJP4India collectively," he said.

Banerjee said: "Wishing a very happy birthday to Lal Krishna Advani Ji. Health and happiness for a long life."

Amar Singh, who visited Advani, also sang the famous song "Pal pal dil ke paas tum rehte ho" for Advani.

He took to Twitter to wish him, saying: "Lal Krishna Advani ji has been a father figure to me. I feel embarrassed and ashamed that I used derogatory remarks against him in the name of secular politics. He is really Dada to all of us."

BJP Chief Ministers including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) were among those who greeted Advani.