BJP chief Amit Shah today paid heartfelt tributes to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying he nursed the party to make it a banyan tree and left an indelible mark in Indian politics.
BJP chief Amit Shah today paid heartfelt tributes to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying he nursed the party to make it a banyan tree and left an indelible mark in Indian politics.
"Atalji emerged as a popular national leader who believed that power is a means of service and led a spotless political life without compromising on national interest. And that's why the people across political and social boundaries showered him with love and respect," Shah tweeted.
Describing the former prime minister as one of the most-popular Indian leader, Shah said Vajpayee, as the Bharatiya Janata Party's founding president, nursed a banyan tree in the country's politics with his tenacity and tireless work. "A rare politician, brilliant speaker, poet and patriot, his demise is not just a irreparable loss for the BJP but also for the entire country," the BJP chief said, adding that his thoughts, poems, foresight and political skills would always inspire and guide all.
"On the one hand Atalji as the head of a party in opposition played the role of an ideal opposition while on the other hand he provided the country a decisive leadership as Prime Minister," Shah said.
Vajpayee left an indelible mark in Indian politics with his ideas and principles, Shah added, while praying for the peace of his soul.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a towering nationalist who softened the often sharp edge of his party's politics with sophisticated inclusiveness, earning him the sobriquet "ajaat shatru" or the man with no enemies.
The first prime minister from a non-Congress party to complete a full term in office, Vajpayee began shakily -- his first stint as prime minister in 1996 lasted only 13 days when his unlikely coalition government failed to get support from other parties. The BJP-led coalition government came back to power in 1998, and this time Vajpayee stayed in office for 13 months before losing a no-confidence motion by one vote.
The National Democratic Alliance returned to power in October 1999 with Vajpayee as prime minister once again. This time he lasted the entire term, capping a glorious career that saw him go from student activist to journalist, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh pracharak, Member of Parliament, foreign minister, opposition leader and finally a much-loved leader of the nation.
Like many of his generation, Vajpayee _ who died today at age 93 _ came into politics as an 18-year old during the Independence movement in 1942 when the Quit India movement was going on.
A lifelong bachelor, Vajpayee was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1957 from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh in India's second general elections. His maiden speech in Parliament so impressed his peers and colleagues that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru introduced Vajpayee to a visiting foreign dignitary thus: "This young man one day will become the country's prime minister." He remained a member of Parliament for 47 years -- elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha and twice to Rajya Sabha.
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 "Atal Bihari Vajpayee nursed BJP into a banyan tree in Indian politics: Amit Shah")
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