Statesman-politician Vajpayee dead

Guwahati (Assam), Aug 16, 2018

A pall of gloom descended over the country on Thursday following the sad demise of statesman, philosopher and visionary politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday. He was 93.

The former Prime Minister, who strode like a colossus in India’s political spectrum, breathed his last at 5.05 pm at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, where he was admitted due to a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion on 11^th June.

According to AIIMS, the former Prime Minister died due to multiple organ failure. He was moved to life-support system on Wednesday evening as his health condition deteriorated.

He is survived by his adopted daughter Namita Bhattacharya, son in-law Ranjan and granddaughter Niharika.

Earlier, AIIMS witnessed a flurry of visits since Wednesday by VVIPS, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, members of his council of ministers, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and National Conference supremo Farooque Abdullah, all of whom converged to enquire about Vajpayee’s health condition.

Chief Ministers from several BJP-ruled States, including Sarbananda Sonowal of Assam, Raman Singh of Chhatisgarh and Adityanath Yogi of Uttar Pradesh, too rushed to New Delhi on Thursday as reports filtered out that Vajpayee’s health condition deteriorated.

Thousands of his well-wishers too turned up both at the institute and his residence at Krishna Menon Marg, New Delhi since Wednesday as reports poured in about deterioration of his health condition.

Also, special prayers were offered across many parts of the country by people seeking Vajpayee’s speedy recovery.

Born to Krishna Bihari Vajpayee and Krishna Devi at Gwalior on 25^th December 1924, the former Prime Minister was known for his oratory skills and witty comments, besides being an excellent parliamentarian who also penned several poems to his credit.

One of the most charismatic leaders of independent India, Vajpayee was the first non-Congress Prime Minister to have served a full term in office. He was Prime Minister thrice – first, for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 11 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally from 1999 to 2004.

The former Prime Minister is credited with increasing the pace of India’s economic reforms, which somehow slowed down due to several factors after they were initiated in 1991, besides having clinched for the first time China’s recognition of Sikkim as a part of India in 2004.

It was also during Vajpayee’s term that the East-West and North-South corridors were launched, besides the Golden Quadrilateral highways project initiated. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan is also a legacy of his rule.

India’s longest bridge, the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge between Dhola and Sadiya in Assam, was approved during his reign in 2003.

He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over four decades, being elected to the Lok Sabha 10 times and twice to the Rajya Sabha. He represented Lucknow in Lok Sabha until 2009, when he retired from active politics due to health reasons.

He is the only parliamentarian elected from four different States at different times – Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

Vajpayee was among the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which he also headed from 1968 to 1972. He was Minister of External Affairs in the Prime Minister Morarji Desai cabinet.

When the Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restructured the Jana Sangh into BJP in 1980.

He was conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, by the President of India in 2014. His birthday on 25^th December is being observed as Good Governance Day since 2014 by the Modi government.

It was during Vajpayee’s second term that India formally became a nuclear power when he ordered the detonation of five underground nuclear devices at Pokharan in Rajasthan in May 1998.

He was widely praised for his bold decisions that ensured the defeat of Pakistan during the Kargil War in 1990.

Vajpayee was perhaps one of the very few Prime Ministers of India whose popularity cut across political lines and geographical divides as his consensual style of function and leadership endeared him even to his staunch political opponents. No wonder, he led coalition governments in two of his three terms, with the last term seeing an alliance of 24 parties.