GUNTUR: Former minister AB Vajpayee, who passed away on Thursday, had a lasting bond with Guntur city as he visited the town several times.
Interestingly, Congress leader and municipal chairman Chebrolu Hanumaiah had organised a civic reception when Vajpayee visited the city as Jana Sangh president way back in 1968. Vajpayee inaugurated a road after Veer Savarkar in Guntur during his 1968 visit.
Noted advocate and local BJP leader Jupudi Yagna Narayana used to translate his
Hindi speeches into Telugu. Curiously, Guntur city, a Muslim dominant city, used to enjoy his public addresses in Hindi and locals would shout down translators for disturbing the flow of Vajpayee by offering to translate it into Telugu.
Vajpayee had also visited Guntur to campaign for BJP candidate Vanama Purnachandra Rao in the 1983 elections in which NTR's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) virtually wiped out the Congress. Subsequently, the BJP joined hands with the TDP in the 1985 Assembly elections.
As a mark of respect to one of the tallest leaders in Indian politics, the state government wants the Centre to name the newly-coming up All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at
Mangalagiri after Vajpayee. The state government made a formal request to the Centre almost three years ago.
"Vajpayee is undoubtedly an iconic leader of the country. His death is the biggest loss particularly in the present vitiated political environment," felt former MP Yalamanchili Sivaji.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
