When I spoke to his family, I took the liberty of addressing him as ‘Babji’. That was how Atal Bihari Vajpayee treated people who knew him. All the people who worked with him in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) can vouch for the fact that he treated them like family. He always made you feel good, he made you feel important and gave you respect. It was nothing but fantastic working with him.Now that the great man is no more, his memories come flashing across my mind. There are so many memories. In fact, working with him created memories on a daily basis. What else can one say?
The biggest heartbreaks today would be in Kashmir. Ask any Kashmiri and he/she will tell you the difference between the government’s stand during Vajpayee’s time and today’s time. In fact, he is only leader who is loved, in fact revered, in the Valley. When news of him being admitted (to AIIMS) and his health deteriorating starting coming out, I am sure the people of Kashmir were praying hardest for his health and recovery.
Kashmir, over the past two years, has seen a tough time and during this period Kashmiris just had one thought in their heads, “If only Vajpayee was around.” The people of Kashmir believed from the bottom of their hearts that if there was one leader who could bring about peace in South Asia, it was Vajpayee.
For a long time, we have been saying that the way forward for bringing peace in the Valley is Vajpayee’s way of ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat aur Jhamuriyat’, but unfortunately, nobody follows his principles.
Today, my heart goes out to his family, especially his daughter, Namita. She was everything to him.
(As told to Pushkar Banakar)