By Anjan Roy
Atal Behari Vajpayee will be remembered fondly by friends and foes alike. Those whom he fought will remember him, as always, being above board; those he had worked with will remember him with nostalgia. The very mention of very name brought to mind the broad visage of a man with intense expression, with flowing dhoti, tousled hair, typical lisping diction, elaborating on timeless India. A man of multiple dimensions, and never so simple, he was a poet who would convey his ingrained optimism promising to light that eternal flame of inspiration.
But then, during his long presence in Indian politics, Vajpayee had seen frustrating days, when his party was lonely represented in parliament by himself. He had, in contrast, seen the party strength surge to unbelievable levels to put him on the hot seat. But all through, in good days as in bad, his asset was his acute point of view. He was always, as if, saying “Men may come, Men may go” but the concept that is India would stay. So however bitter the fight at hand, do not give up that civility. Do not harm the concept that is India. He stood for that unchanging India unflinchingly.
It was in that spirit that he was shocked when historical structures were pulled down or when parliamentary conventions were trampled upon. His observations on those occasions would often bear the mark of his insight into the psyche of the country, the way the Indian polity was evolving and the way we were to go.
I remember it was a small occasion when Vajpayee as usual was sitting in the opposition. Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, coming to power with the largest ever majority. It was a few years into that government’s life when a delegation of law makers from the south had come to Delhi to present a memorandum to the prime minister. Instead of the prime minister meeting the delegation spokesman or two, the law makers were roughed up in front of Race Course Road.
The news reached Lok Sabha, which was sitting. There was ruckus on the floor and the Opposition came down heavily on the government for its pusillanimous behaviour.
Rose Atal Bihari Vajpayee, speaking on the spur of the moment. I can still hear him deliver his admonition in his inimitable style in Hindi. But on that occasion, style apart, it was a premonition. “Until now people from the provinces were coming to Delhi to knock at its door in the hope of getting redressal. Soon there will be a time when provinces will not come to Delhi to knock at its door; but to save your own seats you (the Centre) will go to the provinces for holding on to your skin”.
Today, national political parties are constantly looking out for partners from the regions to shore up their numbers to even form a government at the Centre. They are at the mercy of the states and regional bosses. No wonder that “collaborative federalism” is in the air. There are, of course, those who are still blinkered about the transition and feel that the regions should come to them.
But the writing today is clear. Parties or players are destined to withering in cases where the hard reality is not comprehended. It was not so easy to detect the drift in those days though. The correct reading of the subtle course changes was Vajpayee’s sagacity. He could read the pulse of the people, the mood changes and how to appeal to that. Vajpayee’s election speeches were the clearest demonstration of the demagogue’s art of weaning people away from the opposite’s camp, which has now become the stuff of the legends.
The good thing was that he could deliver even his barbs into immensely enjoyable humour. Who does not know Vajpayee’s use of price rise for raising mirth and satire in the midst of election heat of north India? Good quality onion would always give a burn in the eyes, but to relate it to prices was his kind of political polemics. The underlying tenor was that in the dusty fields where he was speaking raw onion was so essential to the palate of his listeners.
Vajpayee was of course not all honey and milk. He knew how to use his armoury, always hidden behind suavity, at the right moment.
After Lal Krishna Advani’s nationwide “rathyatra” had raised consciousness about Bharatiya Janata Party as a bankable alternative to Congress and time came for it to take up the mantle, it was not Advani who came to grab the top slot. It was Vajpayee who was elected to lead the first NDA government. .
In his moment of supreme victory that evening, Vajpayee was magnanimously understated, knowing fully well that he had beaten all, including those who had worked most for it, to go past the post first. That was his masterclass. (IPA Service)
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