Narendra Modi, not LK Advani is hero of Somnath

BJP patriarch LK Advani turned 90 on Wednesday but the place from where he scripted BJP's rise to power way back in 1990, with his historic Ram Rath Yatra that culminated in the demolition of the Babri mosque does not quite remember him anymore.

For the residents of the holy temple town of Somnath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the hero, the 'bahubali'. In popular memory, PM Modi is the deliverer of the Hindu community from the tyranny of invaders who robbed Somnath on several occasions.

DNA found that none of those we talked to remembered Advani's birthday, leave aside any celebrations.

The older generation which had witnessed or participated in the Rath Yatra do consider him to be a hero of Hindutva, someone who raised BJP's political game, but also deprecate him for having unduly tried to cling to power for way too long. He should have abdicated the throne for Modi, is the sentiment.

"There is no comparison between Advani and Modi. I was a child when the Rath Yatra happened. Advani was at the helm. But now he must retire. Narendra bhai is a bahubali, Advani is just another neta. He did what he did, but Narendra bhai now represents us and our aspirations," said Naranbhai Chauhan who runs a pan shop just outside the gates of the temple town.

The newer generation does not even know who Advani is anymore. "I don't know who he is. I have heard his name, but I am not sure what he did," said first time voter Manoj Silwadia. Silwadia is a resident of Veraval town adjoining Somnath.

Khushiben Thakur, a housewife in Somnath who doubles up as part time caretaker of her husband's shop outside the temple, said since she was an ardent newswatcher she knew who Advani was but then her hero too is Narendra Modi.

Khushiben Thakur, a housewife in Somnath who doubles up as part time caretaker of her husband's shop outside the temple, said since she was an ardent newswatcher she knew who advani was but then her hero too is Narendra Modi. "Politicians have tried to make political use of temple towns in Gujarat but Narendra Modi has really done so much for Somnath. She he was the CM he used to cone more often. He has returned Hindus their pride after suffering for so long under invaders. Just how many times was Somnath looted?"

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST

While the BJP is all guns blazing to justify the logic of demonetisation, a public warning inside the Somnath temple says: All pilgrims are requested not to put in the donation box old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes which are now outlawed. They will not be useful for the temple