Modi turns Advani’s Gujarat visit into a grand affair

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to share stage with his mentor and party patriarch LK Advani has decided to turn the event into a grand affair.

Zee Media Bureau

Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to share stage with his mentor and party patriarch LK Advani, who had recently opposed his nomination as BJP`s Prime Ministerial candidate, has decided to turn the event into a grand affair. According to reports, Modi had asked the state authorities to ensure that Advani gets a red-carpet welcome in Gujarat. Modi, who is currently meeting Advani at the Somnath temple trust in Ahmedabad, will share the stage with him at a series of inaugurations and functions where the veteran leader will be the guest of honour. After sharing a public platform in Bhopal last month, BJP patriarch LK Advani and Modi, will be seen together for the first time in Gujarat. Advani and Modi will jointly inaugurate the gardens created by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) along the Sabarmati river under the Riverfront Development Project. The AMC invitation cards mentioned that Advani would dedicate the gardens to the people in the presence of Modi. The event assumes significance, as Advani, the MP from Gandhinagar constituency, would be seen at a major public function in Gujarat after 2011. Opposing the elevation of Modi, his one-time protege, as BJP`s election campaign committee chief, Advani had resigned from all party posts in June this year, though he later withdrew it. Advani and Modi had appeared on a public platform in Bhopal on September 25, along with a pantheon of BJP for the first time after the declaration of party`s prime ministerial candidate but even there the ties between the two leaders were far from being warm.