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Vajpayee was king of everyone's heart: Farooq
Kashmir Times. Dated: 8/21/2018 10:55:40 AM
Former PM took everyone along: Azad
NEW DELHI, Aug 20(Agencies): Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) president on Monday heaped praises on former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee saying that he was the “king of everyone's heart.”
Speaking at the all-party prayer meet, organised to pay tribute to Bharat Ratna Vajpayee, Farooq Abdullah said, "Atal Behari Vajpayee was not the Wazire-e-Azam (head of state) now but was the king of everyone's heart. He captured every Indians' heart not with power but with love. I don't think anyone had a heart as large as Atal Behari. He never discriminated against any people on the basis of caste, ethnicity, religion or language."
During Kargil conflict, Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and Farooq Abdullah was the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Reminiscing his days with the former prime minister, Farooq said, “During Kargil war, when he came to Kargil, he spoke to everyone while standing in the middle of an open ground despite adverse warnings of his Special Protection Group. He said that no one can bring India down. He later pointed towards the hills, and said that they will repent for their mistakes.”
Vajpayee’s intent behind Pokhran nuclear test was to demonstrate India's strength, and not war with any country. Recalling the days, Farooq said, “When we reached the place of nuclear test, I asked him why was it necessary to do it. He replied that we are not going to use it on anyone but we need to show everyone that we are powerful and we can fight with anyone if we need to.”
Farooq, who later became a minister in UPA II, culminated his eloquent speech by slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Jai Hind.'
Paying rich tributes to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress leader and another former Chief Minister of J&K, Ghulam Nabi Azad said the distance seen between the ruling party and the opposition today was not there earlier and the late BJP stalwart worked taking everyone along.
Speaking at a condolence meeting attended by leaders of all major parties, Azad said Vajpayee had brought together leaders cutting across ideological divides even in his death which, he added, was something rare.
The senior opposition leader quoted verses to heap praise on Vajpayee and said he was such an eloquent speaker that even his criticism sounded pleasant whereas, he added, “There are some leaders who, even when they say something good, make it sound like abuses.”
Azad recalled that as the parliamentary affairs minister during the P V Narasimha Rao-led government, he had to meet Vajpayee, then a key opposition leader, several times a day during Parliament's sessions and they used to have tea and meals together.
“The distance we see today was not there then,” he said, apparently referring to the frosty relations between the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the opposition.
Azad said many people in Vajpayee's party (BJP) might not have seen him as closely as leaders like him had.
He mentioned leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and Indira Gandhi and said Vajpayee would be remembered as one of the biggest leaders of his time who always worked for the country and its people.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi was expected to attend the event but could not as it was his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary today as well and sent Azad as his representative, the organisers said.
BJP senior leader LK Advani began by saying, “I have addressed several public meetings but I had never thought that I will once have to address a meeting like this, a meeting where Atal ji would not be there.” Reminiscing over his friendship with Vajpayee, he said, “I consider myself fortunate that my friendship with Atal ji lasted for 65 years during which I watched him closely. Working together, we shared our experiences, watched films together and read books together.”