Not just a Bharat Ratna!

ना हार में,

ना जीत में,

किंचित नहीं भयभीत मैं,

कर्तव्य पथ पर जो भी मिले,

ये भी सही वो भी सही - अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी

He came, He saw, He conquered our hearts by his oratory, his exemplary behaviour, his statesmanship par excellence. That was our Atalji. There can never be a personality like Atalji. I am one of the millions who deeply mourn for his passing away. Right now I am feeling the same as I felt on 14-Mar-2004, I remember that day because that was one of the most disappointing and saddest day of my life. BJP lost the elections despite the stellar economic performance and giving a stable non Congress government ever. The elections of 2004 also resulted in the end of the political life of the finest PM we had. This is tribute and a balanced appraisal of Atalji, The Golden Quadrilateral project, envisioned and executed by his government, contributed significantly to solidify his positive legacy. Policy innovations of Vajpayee’s government sparked off India’s telecom revolution, sarva sikhsa abhiyan, victory in kargil, During Atal ji's time, India saw an Earthquake, 2 Cyclones, worst Drought in 30 years, Oil crisis, USA sanctions, Yet GDP didn't falter in his time.  And to his credit, he sagaciously ran the first successful coalition government of India – onerous task given that the NDA comprised fractious parties with divergent agendas.

By choice and conviction, the Vajpayee-led NDA was perhaps the only time India had a government ideologically committed to right-wing economics. Many distinguished economists credit his government’s economic policies for India’s sustained GDP growth rate of over 8 per cent from 2003-2007. Under the NDA government, companies were privatised via strategic sale, taxation was rationalised, foreign exchange rules were relaxed, capital markets and insurance reforms were executed and the government even proposed to privatise PSU banks and liberalise India’s strangulating labour laws. Plans to privatise Air India and the oil marketing companies could not materialise – had they succeeded, the national exchequer would have saved several trillion rupees. 

These were just a few which are coming out of my memory. When the NDA Govt under ABV spoke about a 8% + Growth - The Oped specially the Economist, The Hindu and Indian Express were vicious and Sonia Gandhi actually called it Mungerilal Ke Sapney - Another matter that GDP Growth rate in 2003-2004 hit 8.52% and all good work capitalised by UPA Govt later and squatted away and the gains scammed away.

India's biggest misfortune was NDA loss in 2004. It allowed Congress to benefit from Vajpayee's hard work and claim credit.

May his soul find place in the lotus feet of the almighty!