Vajpayee never buckled, showed world ‘India is Atal’: Modi

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Paying glowing tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the late leader never compromised on his ideology and did not buckle under global pressure even after the nuclear tests in 1998.

Modi said that Vajpayee’s popularity was so immense that he remained alive in people’s memories despite being completely away from public life for the last 10 years. Addressing a prayer meeting organised in the memory of Vajpayee, the Prime Minister noted that the late leader spent most of his political life at a time when there was virtually no alternative to the dominant political ideology.

“Despite facing isolation, he remained committed to his ideals. He stayed in opposition for so long, yet his ideals remained untouched,” Modi said. He said that Vajpayee respected parliamentary traditions and when the opportunity came, he implemented his vision for the benefit of the people. “In each moment, you could feel the ‘Atal’ in him,” the Prime Minister said.

Recalling how Vajpayee surprised the world through the nuclear tests in 1998 during his prime ministership, Modi said that despite global adverse reaction, Atalji did not buckle under pressure, and showed the world that “India is Atal”.