Why Atal ji cried just before becoming PM: Watch video
What's the story
A poet, a politician, a statesman and an orator. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was all this, and also had an emotional core.
Senior Congress leader and former journalist Rajiv Shukla recalls that Vajpayee wept during an interview with him, on the eve of him taking oath as the Prime Minister of India, at the thought of having to stay away from the public.
Here's more.
Interview
Vajpayee cried when he was going to become the PM
"I interviewed Vajpayee in 1996 when he was going to become the Prime Minister. I said that Atalji you're now going to be the Prime Minister and from tomorrow you'll have a security cover and you will be able to meet the public from a distance. While talking about this, he began to cry," Shukla said.
Vajpayee's death was announced by AIIMS, Delhi yesterday.
Grief
Atal ji used to take everyone along, says Shukla
Expressing grief over the demise of Vajpayee, Shukla said, "His politics was about taking everyone along. Although his ideology was different, as a Prime Minister, he used to take everyone along. Opposition parties also felt very comfortable with him. He was not hostile towards anyone. That was the reason why everybody loved him."
Vajpayee is survived by his adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya.
Quote
Today's leaders need to learn from him: Shukla
"Today's leaders need to learn from him. Vajpayee adopted the quality that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lal Bahadur Shastri had. He was also a good speaker," Shukla said.