I wrote this article on the 93 birth anniversary of Vajpayee for Firstpost.
You can read a version of the article below:
Governments come and go and parties are born and disappear.
Above it all, the country must stay shining, its democracy immortal. Former
prime minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee said this while speaking at the Confidence
Motion in Parliament on 28 May, 1996. The government that was formed that day
ran for only thirteen days as he was not ready for horse-trading of MPs.
In the course of his long political journey, Vajpayee's
personal integrity did not receive a single stain and his political chastity
and credibility remained impeccable. Better known as Atalji, he could easily
make space among people through his mild manners, gentle humour and poetic
lilt. After Jawaharlal Nehru, he is the only Indian political leader under
whose direction a party won three general elections in a row.
Vajpayee was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 and in
1994 he was named the best parliamentarian. At the BJP convention in November,
1995, he was declared the prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming Lok
Sabha polls. In 1996, BJP emerged as the single largest party and Vajpayee took
oath as the prime minister. This government , however, did not last long. In
his historical speech in Parliament during the floor test he said that he will
not touch corruption even with a kitchen tong (chimta). The government fell one
by one.
Politics of Governance
The six years during which Vajpayee led the country,
redefined Indian politics. BJP contested the elections with the slogan of ‘Able
leadership, Stable Government’ and Vajpayee gave the country a much-needed
stable government.
During his term as the prime minster, Vajpayee took several
new initiatives. In 1998, showing great political dynamism and gusto, he
green-signalled the nuclear tests that made India a full nuclear power. The USA
and other countries put India under sanctions which failed to have an impact.
Within one-and-a-half year, first President Bill Clinton and then other world
leaders visited India and signed partnership agreements. For the first time
India was beginning to make its foray as an emerging world power.
The reforms pushed by the Vajpayee government, improved the
country's economic growth rate which reached 6-7 percent and the benefits of
this percolated to the grassroots. Employment was generated, record foreign
investment was registered and infrastructure improved like never before. India
emerged as an IT super power in the world. People felt development work around
them.
Vajpayee started an ambitious project to connect four ends
of India with a four-lane road. It was a herculean task given the sheer volume
of the project. The Golden Quadrilateral project started to became a reality
with an average of 15-km road being laid each day. This project helped in
putting economy on growth track. Another related project was the Prime Minster
Gram Sadak Yojana whose target was to connect all the villages with the city
roads.
At a BJP national executive held on 15th April, 2000, he
wondered 'What after political success'. He also answered his own question
saying now that the party had governments in centre and many states, its
leaders should make efforts to improve the quality of governance. National
interest and people ’s service should be our top priority while doing politics
of governance, he said.
Vajpayee declared his long-time associate and Union Home
Minster LK advani as the Deputy Prime Minster. The then BJP president Venkaiah
Naidu termed Vajpayee as Vikas Purursh (Man of Development) and Advani as Lauh
Purursh (Iron Man) in 2002.
On 12 January, 2004 at the Hyderabad BJP national executive,
Vajpayee announced the decision to go in for elections. He said, the BJP is not
just a political party but a movement of social transformation. "Different
sections of the society are coming to our fold. We should again take verdict of
the people and try to fulfil their aspiration. We should make all our efforts
to make India a develop country by 2020," he said.
BJP lost 2004 general elections by a few seats. Atalji said
after the results, "We have lost the government but we have not lost sight
of our commitment to national service. We have lost elections not the
determination. Victory or loss are integral parts of life, we accept them with
equanimity." Atalji gave up political life in 2005. In 2015, President
Pranab Mukherjee visited Vajpayee at his house in a special gesture and
conferred the highest civilian honour - the Bharat Ratna - to him.
Observing his commitment to governance and development, the
central government has decided to celebrate his birthday as Good Governance
Day. Besides being a man of masses, an author, journalist and thinker, Atalji
also was a great administrator and statesman. He set the new standard of
politics - one of governance and development - inspiring millions who
contribute to the country's social and political life.
