Robert Vadra | Photo Credit: IANS

New Delhi: After breaking his silence yesterday through a blog post in which he asserted that the BJP had "never regarded those who disagree with us politically as enemies”, party stalwart Lal Krishna Advani found unexpected support from Robert Vadra.

In a Facebook post Vadra called Advani a “real leader” and “the most important pillar of the party” and said that he always respected him as a good opposition leader.

“The true leaders with ethics & statesmanship should be rewarded & not ignored. We should not let them wither away. It is disgraceful if we cannot value their seniority and advice,” Vadra wrote and expressed unhappiness over the senior BJP leader being sidelined in his own party.

Advani's stand on nationalism generated quite a storm on Twitter and he is ever since trending on the social media site.

In his blog titled "Nation First, Party Next, Self Last" he wrote that the BJP had "never regarded those who disagree with us politically as enemies, but only as our adversaries" and that the BJP's conception of Indian nationalism never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as "anti-national".

Advani, who was replaced by party president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, had been winning from the seat since 1991.

Expressing his opinion on diversity Advani said, “the essence of the Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression.”

The 91-year-old veteran leader further said that right from its inception, the saffron party never regarded those who disagree with them politically as enemies but only as adversaries.

"Similarly, in our conception of Indian nationalism, we have never regarded those who disagree with us politically as 'anti-nationals'. The party has been committed to freedom of choice of every citizen at personal as well as political level," PTI quoted the article.

His statement received support from opposition leaders including Mamata Banerjee who called his statement “significant”.

"As the senior most politician, fmr Dy PM and founding father of BJP, the views Advani Ji has expressed about extending democratic courtesies, is significant. Of course, all Opposition who raise their voices are not anti-national. We welcome his statement & convey our humble regards," Banerjee tweeted.

Reacting to Advani's blog, PM Narendra Modi tweeted saying that the party's founder member has perfectly summed up the true essence of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Advani ji perfectly sums up the true essence of BJP, most notably the guiding mantra of 'nation first, party next, self last'. Proud to be a BJP karyakarta and proud that greats like L.K. Advani ji have strengthened it," Modi said in a tweet.

Time and again, Vadra has expressed his desire to enter active politics saying that he was “open to a larger role in serving the people.”

He, however, has clarified that he will not enter active politics until and unless his name is cleared from the all investigations.