India says goodbye to its last statesman PM

THE ECONOMIC TIMES Fri, Aug 17, 2018 | 05:27 PM IST Atal Bihari Vajpayee: 1924-2018

The teflon-coated politician who lived life on his own terms An affable man with friends across all divides, Vajpayee was loved and admired even by adversaries. The speech that Vajpayee couldn't finish Vajpayee spoke of this 'life-changing moment' at a public rally while campaigning for the 1996 Lok Sabha election. He could not finish the first speech of his life. 5 things India will remember Vajpayee for Vajpayee carried on the spirit of economic reforms introduced by the PV Narsimha Rao government in 1991. A thaw that didn't last: When Atal Bihari Vajpayee took bus to Lahore and hugged Nawaz Sharif It was a short-lived thaw in stormy relations between India and Pakistan when Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a bus to Lahore in 1999. Vajpayee's policies helped script high growth in 2003-08 Vajpayee's team did relentless diplomacy to successfully avert the effect of immediate sanctions post Pokhran. Similarly, one can say that the seeds of GST were sown during his term, with the appointment of two key task forces on tax reforms under Vijay Kelkar. Atal Bihari Vajpayee steered India out of difficult economic times In his six years, Vajpayee steadily cut import duties and barriers to foreign investment, globalising India as never before. There would have been no NDA government in 1998 had Atal Bihari Vajpayee not been the face of BJP His views on a host of issues were more centrist than right-wing, leading some to allege that he was closer to the Congress rather than the Sangh fountainhead RSS. Had Vajpayee got a second term, government would not have run any business Vedanta boss recollects his interaction with Vajpayee during Vedanta's listing. Vajpayee was a democrat to the core, a titan in opposition space Ademocrat to the core, he dominated the opposition space like a Titan and led the government with aplomb. He remained a consensus seeker while successfully heading the first coalition government for a full term. When Vajpayee got Nehru's portrait restored in South Block Vajpayee had shared this anecdote in a speech in Parliament and also praised Nehru for his ability to take criticism from others.

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