APJ Abdul Kalam said that he has informed former prime minister AB Vajpayee that he wished to be an all-party candidate for the 2002 presidential poll.
Former president APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday, said that he has informed former prime minister AB Vajpayee that he wished to be an all-party candidate for the 2002 presidential poll when the latter asked him over phone, seeking a 'yes' or 'no'.
Kalam said he received the call from Vajpayee just after he returned from a teaching session in Anna University here.
"When Vajpayee said my name had come up (in the NDA) and he sought my consent, I asked him for at least two hours of time to think it over... but he said he wanted only yes or no from me," Kalam, said, speaking at a felicitation function for
former vice-chancellors of the University on the occasion of its 30th anniversary here.
"I made around 30 calls to my friends before calling back Vajpayee and told him that I wanted to be an all-party candidate with the consensus of all. In the next 15 minutes my candidature was announced," Kalam, who defeated Lakshmi Sehgal fielded by Left parties for the presidential race then, said, adding that Congress also later came forward to support him.
"There it was. Anna University gave India its eleventh president," he said amidst thunderous applause.
Kalam said that when Vajpayee called him he was in the penultimate session of the ten lectures session he was scheduled to deliver at the University.
Reiterating his Vision 2020, Kalam said he envisaged an India free of poverty, illiteracy, denial of education on social and economic grounds and reduction of urban-rural divide among others.
He said all should strive to achieve these goals.
Kalam said he had a 'Vision 2030' for Anna University by which year, among others, the premier institution should be known for its "pioneering research" at least in five major areas and make its students employment generators.
Recalling his days at ISRO, the AGNI missile programme of the DRDO and the PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural Areas), he said they were his "dream come true".
Kalam also refered to leadership qualities, saying that leaders should possess a vision. The late Vikram Sarabhai, hailed as the architect of India's space programme, had such a vision for the space programme which has seen India succeed in
launching the lunar mission, Chandrayaan-I, he said.
Earlier, RM Vasagam, one of the seven vice-chancellors of the university who was honoured by Kalam, said that former Pakistan prime minister, the late Benazir Bhutto, once wrote to the University, requesting that they coordinate with the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) named after her father, in Pakistan.
However, Vasagam did not elaborate.
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