Tarun Chugh
25 December is an unforgettable date for Indian politics. This is the same date on which the ideal man of Indian politics, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born.
Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a symbol of honesty, decency and simplicity, is a symbol of purity in Indian politics, good governance in government and a universally accepted MP in the parliamentary system. Still alive as an established personality.
Ajatashatru Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji will always be remembered in the heart of the country. As a successful Prime Minister, his contribution to the economic development of the country and social welfare of the people has shown the way to 21st century India. Giving concrete shape to the same path, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is building a prosperous and capable India.
Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee was truly the gem of India. He did politics by staying connected to the ground and made his place in the hearts of the people. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modiji is continuously carrying forward his ideas and the flow of development of the country.
As a politician who established values and ideals in Indian politics, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is still present in the minds of the compatriots for instilling a sense of dedication among his supporters and winning the hearts of his opponents. Everyone respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji because of his spotless and clean public life.
Even his opponents were his admirers. Whenever Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, who always considered the national interest supreme, used to present his views in the Parliament, even his opponents could not say anything. As a sensitive poet, Atal ji always kept attacking social evils through his poems.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the man of the era, who traveled from the preacher of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to the Prime Minister, was born in Gwalior on 25 December 1924. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji’s BA education took place in Victoria College, Gwalior, currently known as Lakshmibai College. After graduating from Victoria College, Gwalior, Atal Bihari Vajpayee also obtained a master’s degree in Arts from DAV College, Kanpur with first class. Atalji became a volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since his student days. He also worked as a journalist in his life and for a long time edited many newspapers and magazines imbued with national sentiments like Rashtradharma, Panchjanya and Veer Arjun. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji was a founding member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and worked for a long time with strong nationalist leaders like Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the National President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh from 1968 to 1973. In the 1957 Lok Sabha elections, he reached the Lok Sabha for the first time by winning as a Jan Sangh candidate from Balrampur Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the leader of the Jan Sangh Parliamentary Party from 1957 to 1977, influenced even the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru with his powerful speeches. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s personality was very sociable. Atalji had openly opposed the imposition of Emergency in 1975. After the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, for the first time in the country, a non-Congress government was formed under the leadership of Morarji Desai, in which Atalji was made the Foreign Minister. As Foreign Minister, he created India’s image all over the world. As Foreign Minister, he became the country’s first speaker to deliver a speech in Hindi at the United Nations.
After the breakup of the Janata Party in 1980, Atal Bihari Vajpayee established the Bharatiya Janata Party with his fellow leaders and became the founding national president of the party. When Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the largest party in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Atal ji became the Prime Minister of the country. Unfortunately this government lasted only for 13 days. In 1998, BJP again emerged as the largest party for the second time and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of the country for the second time. But this government could last only for 13 months. In this short tenure of 13 months, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while being the Prime Minister, showed strong will and by conducting nuclear test in Pokhran, he made the whole world realize the strength of India.
Many countries including America and European Union imposed various types of sanctions on India, yet India was successful in overcoming all kinds of challenges under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections held after the victory in the Kargil war, BJP again emerged as the largest party under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and formed the government in the form of National Democratic Alliance by forming an alliance with 13 parties under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government completed its full five-year tenure. During this tenure, many dimensions of progress were touched in the country. Atal ji’s government started the Golden Quadrilateral Project to connect the four corners of India by road and Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai were connected by highways. Atal ji has been honored with many awards in the country and abroad. In 2015, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest honour. Today, on his birth anniversary, I pay tribute to him.
(The author is the National General Secretary of BJP).
