In an all-party prayer meet held on Monday to commemorate late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he was hailed as the ‘prime minister for everyone’ by all the parties.
All the leaders paid tribute to the former PM while reminiscing about the late BJP stalwart and his contribution to the country made during his term as the Prime Minister and BJP leader.
Besides the family members of Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP veteran and Vajpayee’s old friend LK Advani were among the prominent BJP leaders who attended the meet. From the other parties– PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, CPI’s D Raja, BSP’s Satish Mishra, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan were among many others those who attended the memorial service.
While addressing the meet, PM Modi said that Vajpayee changed people’s view through his United Nations speech where he shifted the narrative from Kashmir and brought up the issue of terrorism into the limelight. “Due to Vajpayee ji, terrorism became an important issue on the world stage,” said PM Modi.
Praising the deceased leader, Modi said that Vajpayee dedicated his life to the people of the country. Modi stated, “Vajpayee-ji has set an example for all, he dedicated his life to the nation right from adolescence till the end of his life. In his youth itself he had decided that he wanted to serve his fellow Indians”, quoted The Indian Express.
Congress Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the meet, “Vajpayee has brought together leaders cutting across the ideological divide even in his death”, quoted Times of India. Azad also commented on the unhealthy relations between the Modi led NDA government and the Opposition by pointing out that during Vajpayee’s rule there was no distance between the ruling government and the Opposition. He said, “The distance we see today was not there then.”
Mehbooba Mufti, PDP leader commending him said, “Vajpayee (was) a messiah for the people of Kashmir.” She added, “He was the only PM who could understand people of Kashmir. When people talk about Kashmir, they talk about trust deficit but Vajpayee had developed trust among people of Kashmir”, TOI quoted former J&K CM.
PM Modi said that Vajpayee will remain an “inspiration” and his magnanimity is visible from the love the deceased leader received even after staying away from the public life for more than a decade.
“He (Vajpayee) spent several years in opposition, but never compromised his ideology. His efforts ensured that India became a nuclear power and attributed the tests to the brilliance of our scientists. He never buckled under pressure. He was Atal after all”, The Indian Express quoted PM Modi as saying.