A new book reveals that Atal Bihari Vajpayee rejected an offer to become President of India, a move that would have made Lal Krishna Advani Prime Minister. Vajpayee believed that a sitting PM becoming President would set a bad precedent for Indian democracy.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
'Right now, we have no relationship with Pakistan. And the relationship with China is not great.'
'The incident has underlined that you can't leave anything to chance or take anything for granted.' 'You have to ensure that your family is taken care of 24x7.'
'"When I was in China, a song by your father was being played," Modi told Ranbir.'
'He is one of the most down-to-earth and hardworking guys I know, and that's true of all superstars, including Bachchan sahab.'
After being elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in 1999, Najma Heptulla rang up the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from Berlin to convey the news but had to hold the phone line for an hour as a staff told her that 'madam is busy'.
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
The Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of insulting Dr Manmohan Singh, the country's first Sikh prime minister, by carrying out his last rites at the Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could later become his memorial.
'Ajit Doval said, "They are threatening us now".'
'BJP loses a democratic election, then buys MLAs from the ruling party's flock and rides to power in these states.' 'Do you think Atalji would have tolerated this?'
'There is a song that fits my father. It is from the Dev Anand film Hum Dono, which goes Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya...'
'My chants in praise of BJP and RSS stalwarts were a reaction to what MPs like Owaisi did.'
'When I met Atalji for the first time, he wouldn't look at me. He seemed very embarrassed.'
When Pankaj Tripathi agrees to play a towering leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here's what happens.
As the old Parliament building hosted a session one last time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bid a poignant farewell recalling the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'governments may come and go' remark.
He said Shiv Sena protected a political leadership for 25-30 years but they (the BJP) didn't want Sena and also the Akali Dal -- the erstwhile members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
"NDA is a beautiful rainbow of regional aspirations... So nation's development through the development of states... At a time when we are working for a developed India, NDA is taking the lead in showing the spirit of sabka prayas," he said.
'He was a poet at heart and a saint by nature.'
It sent shock waves in the party -- a political greenhorn had taken on Modi in his home turf of Gujarat. Smriti had clearly tried to choose sides, in this case Vajpayee's camp. Many felt that this would end Irani's career. A revealing excerpt from Nidhi Sharma's new book She, The Leader: Women in Indian Politics.
'His magical leadership, his fatherly love and his ability to take everyone along, cannot be replaced.'
'At dinner, he made me sit next to him.' 'He listened to me for over two-and-a-half hours.'
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Wednesday said there would have been no Partition had Mohammed Ali Jinnah been made the first prime minister, adding to the row on a remark by Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
'He has sacrificed a lot. Always done something for others. But never asked for anything in return.'
Rediff.com reader Sathyhadeep shares his story of meeting former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Yashwant Sinha, who served as finance minister and external affairs minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, salutes Atalji.
Modi, who was accompanied by BJP president Amit Shah, also met the family members of the former prime minister, who completed 92 years on Sunday and is ailing for a few years now.
Soon after his return from foreign tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's house here and greeted him on his 91st birthday.
'The fact that she kept her faith in the power of doing good all through the thick and thin in her life, that she worked sincerely for the upliftment of the tribals, the downtrodden and the backwards, is one of the most inspirational aspects of her life.'
Political leaders bid an emotional goodbye to Vajpayee.
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad during his retirement speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday summed up his more than four-decade-old political career in few Urdu couplets and a brief speech.
'The Vajpayee personae is so mirrored in Modi's initiatives that one wonders if the similarities are merely a coincidence or a divine design,' says RSS ideologue Tarun Vijay.
'Senior leaders and my father not given respect in the BJP.'
Iconic boxer MC Mary Kom and ace archer Deepika Kumari were told they need not say sorry after returning without medals while hockey player P R Sreejesh was asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he has learnt Punjabi when he hosted the Tokyo-returned Olympians at his residence.
'Vajpayeeji's BJP was democratic.' 'It was a BJP that belonged to its party workers. Every worker, every member was an Atal Bihari.' Today's BJP belongs to businessmen.' 'Modi and Amit Shah have reduced the BJP to a two-man party.'
I have been forced to retire at the age of 45. I wanted to go on a pilgrimage, but Advaniji asked me not to go. I have never asked for any post, but was hoping that I would be given some responsibility. But it did not happen."
Born in 1924, Vajpayee entered politics during the Quit India movement in 1942. He was also the first external affairs minister to deliver a speech in the UN Assembly in Hindi. Vajpayee was elected to Lok Sabha from Lucknow in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He is the first and the only non-Congress leader who completed his full term as prime minister.
Cutting across party lines, political leaders welcomed the government's decision to confer Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian honour, on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances