• TOP NEWS
  • CITY & TOWNS
  • LOCAL
  • BUSINESS
  • NATION
  • WORLD
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
    • EDITORIAL
    • ON HERITAGE
    • CREATIVE BEATS
    • INTERALIA
    • WIDE ANGLE
    • OTHER VIEW
    • ART SPACE
  • Photo Gallery
  • CARTOON
  • EPAPER
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Kashmir Images - Latest News Update
Epaper
  • TOP NEWS
  • CITY & TOWNS
  • LOCAL
  • BUSINESS
  • NATION
  • WORLD
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
    • EDITORIAL
    • ON HERITAGE
    • CREATIVE BEATS
    • INTERALIA
    • WIDE ANGLE
    • OTHER VIEW
    • ART SPACE
  • Photo Gallery
  • CARTOON
  • EPAPER
No Result
View All Result
Kashmir Images - Latest News Update
No Result
View All Result
Home TOP NEWS

Vajpayee was democrat to the core

Press Trust of india by Press Trust of india
August 18, 2018
in TOP NEWS
0
The man with many faces

By H K Dua

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Of all the leaders of the BJP, it is only Atal Bihari Vajpayee who represents the idea of India in all its shades. And that is the reason Vajpayee’s passing away marks a sense of loss for all the people of India irrespective of religion, caste, region and language.

Related posts

Valley all set to welcome Amarnath Yatris

Valley all set to welcome Amarnath Yatris

July 2, 2025
Houseboat Association, Dal dwellers call on CM Omar Abdullah; flag long-pending issues

Houseboat Association, Dal dwellers call on CM Omar Abdullah; flag long-pending issues

July 2, 2025

It took more than half a century for Vajpyee to become a national and much loved leader of the country.

His prime ministership is also marked for major initiatives to improve relations with Pakistan and to resolve the Kashmir question — two of his dearest missions as prime minister.

Despite his belonging to the BJP, which had roots in the RSS philosophy of Akhand Bharat, he went to Lahore by bus and visited, of all the places, Minar-e-Pakistan where he announced that India recognised the identity of Pakistan.

Even though the three service chiefs of Pakistan boycotted Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore, he offered a hand of friendship with Pakistan.

I was there in Srinagar with Vajpayee as media adviser to the prime minister when he made the famous statement that he would love to have talks with the Hurriyat and other sections of the society within the framework of ‘Insaaniyat’.

Vajpayee had gone to Kashmir in 2000 “after militants killed 25 people in Pahalgam”. Vajpayee decided to visit Pahalgam and on return to Srinagar airport, he discovered that he has to address a press conference being held next to the helicopter hangar.

The third or the fourth question at the press conference which I was anchoring was, “Prime Minister sahab will the talks on the Kashmir question be held within the framework of the Constitution or outside?”

“Talks insaniyat ke dayre mein hongi (talks will be held within the humanitarian framework),” said the prime minister. My comment on this is who can differ with this delectable statement that came out of Vajpayee’s heart. In the Valley, he is still remembered for it.

I was his media adviser for nearly two years, at no stage did the prime minister try to avoid the media or uncomfortable questions posed by the media. At no stage, during my two years, did he suggest that I should call up an editor or a proprietor of a newspaper objecting to a particular write up.

He believed in the freedom of press. This is because essentially Vajpayee was a democrat to the core. He never for a day wavered from his belief in the essential liberal policies of parliamentary democracy.

He was certainly the most outstanding parliamentarian of India. He was very severe in his criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru’s China policy, yet his speech on Nehru’s death in May 1964 was the most illustrious in quality and content.

Within the Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the BJP, another contemporary leader Balraj Madhok described Vajpayee as a ‘Nehruite’ to me in a conversation.

“What about you Madhok sahab,” I asked him. He replied, “I am a Patelite”. Even in these days the Nehru-Patelite argument is still prevalent within party circles.

(As told to PTI’s Asim Kamal, this is an article by H K Dua, who was media adviser to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for two years during his premiership)

Previous Post

Pilgrims descend on Makkah for ‘smart Hajj’

Next Post

Do not brings transfer matters to courts: HC to administrators

Next Post
HC orders eviction of unauthorized occupants from govt accommodations

Do not brings transfer matters to courts: HC to administrators

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ePaper

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Our team
  • Terms of Service
E-Mailus: [email protected]

© 2024 Kashmir Images - Designed by GITS.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • CITY & TOWNS
  • LOCAL
  • BUSINESS
  • NATION
  • WORLD
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
    • EDITORIAL
    • ON HERITAGE
    • CREATIVE BEATS
    • INTERALIA
    • WIDE ANGLE
    • OTHER VIEW
    • ART SPACE
  • Photo Gallery
  • CARTOON
  • EPAPER

© 2024 Kashmir Images - Designed by GITS.