Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Recalling the many facets of a statesman

IN June 2001, so united states congress chairperson Sonia mrs. Gandhi was in young York. Party leader Natwar Singh, who accompanied her, wanted to add more weightage to her tour and contacted then National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra at the Prime Minister’s Office. Hours later, the Government of India’s plans for the United Nations’ Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS were overhauled. Instead of then Union health minister CP Thakur, Gandhi — the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha —delivered the opening speech at the UN.Six months later, after Parliament was attacked on December 13, 2021. Gandhi was the first Opposition leader to dial Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. When the Lok Sabha reassembled the next day, Vajpayee famously said, “If the Leader of the Opposition calls to inquire about the well-being of the Leader of the House, it shows that India’s democracy is safe”— a quote that underlined the spirit of Parliament and sent a message of unity amid challenging times.A three-time PM who took oath in 1996, 1998 and 1999, Vajpayee was also a statesman, a poet, and one of the finest orators in Parliament. He was a 10-term lawmaker in the Lok Sabha and was elected to the Rajya Sabha for two short terms. The first non-Congress PM to complete a full five-year term, Vajpayee died on August 16, 2018 after prolonged illness.Three years before his death, then President Pranab Mukherjee made a rare exception and drove down to Vajpayee’s home at Krishna Menon Marg to confer him the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country. After Vajpayee died, Mukherjee told HT that he wrote in the file that conferring the Bharat Ratna at the recipient’s house should be considered as an exception and not a precedent.The first leader to deliver a Hindi speech at the United Nations, Vajpayee’s language became the gold standard of political oratory, particularly in Parliament, where his wit and personal charm often shone through.In 2003, a Rajya Sabha debate saw Opposition leaders united to denounce the PM’s newest foreign policy venture with China. Finally, it was Vajpayee’s turn to give a reply. At his wittiest best, the then PM reminded Natwar Singh, the most critical voice in the debate, that he once wrote a letter praising Vajpayee’s parliamentary speeches.Noted journalist Kuldeep Nayyar once asked Vajpayee what happened to the latter’s promise to move forward. Vajpayee retorted, “Nayyar ji, we met at the stairs. You asked me, where am I going? I replied, ‘main aage jaana chahta hoon’.”His best was reserved for Ram Jethmalani, who he sacked as law minister in 2000. In a debate, Jethmalani had launched a bitter attack on Brajesh Mishra. “Ram Jethmalani ji is a senior advocate. He loves to stand up for any case. He fights a case which he understands. He also fights cases he doesn’t understand. That’s why in the face of defeat, he hopes for victory,” the then PM had quipped.In the campaign for Delhi polls, Vajpayee once twisted Congress (I)’s name and said, “Congress ayee nahi hai, Congress gaye (Congress hasn’t come, it has gone)”; during a debate on relations with Pakistan, he referred to wall-writings along the railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh and said, “Shaadi ho na ho, baatchit honi chahiye” indicating talks should go on irrespective of the outcome.Unlike the current dispensation’s penchant for targeting Jawaharlal Nehru, Vajpayee held India’s first PM in high regard. In Parliament, Vajpayee recalled that he had seen a portrait of Nehru in the corridors of South Block, but in 1977 after the Janata government was formed and Vajpayee became the external affairs minister, the painting disappeared. “I asked the officials, where did the painting go? They couldn’t say anything but the portrait was again hung on the wall,” he had said.In his parliamentary journey, Vajpayee’s charm and larger-than-life image earned him friends across the political spectrum. Some Opposition leaders called him the “right man in the wrong party”. One of them, CPI(M)’s Somnath Chatterjee, became the Speaker in the 14th Lok Sabha. In the felicitation ceremony, Vajpayee warned a loquacious Chatterjee, “Aap Bolpur se chun kar aaye hai. Lekin yahan zyada bolne se kaam nehi chalega. (You are elected from Bolpur. But you should not talk much).” Two years later, Vajpayee shot off a letter to Chatterjee accusing him of bias. Two days later, a frail Vajpayee came down to meet the Speaker at the latter’s office to apologise for the letter.In his final appearance in the Lok Sabha shortly after his defeat in the 2004 polls, Vajpayee walked into the House during a Budget debate. Soon after he sat down, the BJP decided to stage a walkout. Almost all party leaders left the House — except Lal Krishna Advani, who chose to remain seated beside Vajpayee. For one last time, that moment comprising two party stalwarts rekindled memories of an earlier era –– when the BJP had just two members in the Lower House.