Residents of holy town of Kurukshetra nostalgically remember Vajpayee

Kurukshetra, August 16—While the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee died today at Delhi, People of Kurukshetra pray for peace to his soul and nostalgically remember his two visits made to Kurukshetra as Prime Minister of India. Though Vajpayee had made many visits to the historic town of Kurukshetra during the various election campaigns earlier also but two visits to the town as Prime Minister were memorable.

His first visit to Kurukshetra was on the invitation of then Haryana Chief Minister, Bansi Lal, to participate in the 101 st birth anniversary function of late Prime Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda, on July 4, 1999. In fact, the invitation was given by Bansi Lal to Prime Minister when he was heading the Haryana Government as Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) and BJP alliance. However, meanwhile the BJP had withdrawn support from HVP and Congress had assured for its support to HVP.

Being a part of the function to commemorate the memory of G.L. Nanda, a social activist, Vijay Sabharwal vividly remembers that during the period of such political uncertainties, except for exchange of formal courtesies between Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal and Prime Minister Vajpayee, both avoided each other. Through out the period when Prime Minister Vajpayee and other Union ministers visited G.L. Nanda’s ‘samadhi’ on the eastern bank of holy Brahma Sarovar to offer their flower tribute and later laid the foundation stone of Nanda’s memorial at the ‘Sadachar Sathal’, Vajpayee was seen talking only to Union Home Minister, Lal Krishan Advani, and other Union ministers accompanying him rather than Bansi Lal.

Vajpayee was in a good mood during the Nanda’s birth anniversary function held at Kurukshetra University auditorium. He started his speech by breaking the news that “just now I have received information that our armed forces have captured the tiger hill and we have won the Kargil war”. He said he was happy to break this news at the land of Mahabharta where truth won against deceits. Later, he spoke high of G.L. Nanda as a man of high moral and honest through out his political life.

His second visit as Prime Minister to Kurukshetra was on March 6, 2001 to inaugurate the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre.

Photo-- from L to R --Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Haryana Governor Mahabir Prasad, Union Home Minister and Deputy PM, L.K.Advani, Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Haryana CM, Bansi Lal, G.L. Nanda's son Narinder Nanda, and social activist Vijay Sabharwal, on the occasion of laying of foundation stone of 'Sadachar Sathal' on July 4, 1999, 101st birth anniversary of Nanda ji