Atal’s overpowering aura

| | Lucknow | in Lucknow

The aura surrounding Atal Bihari Vajpayee was so overpowering that his appeal even forced a hijacker to surrender even when Vajpayee was not the Prime Minister of the country. 

This happened when Vajpayee was just a Member of Parliament and was elected to Lok Sabha from Lucknow for the first time.

It happened on January 22, 1992 when the then District Magistrate of Lucknow Ashok Priyadarshi entered the room of Vajpayee when he was about to start his lunch and his old time associate Lalji Tandon was with him. Priyadarshi told Vajpayee that a man had hijacked a plane en route to Delhi and he claimed to be carrying a chemical bomb. The DM also disclosed that the hijacker wanted the plane to be brought back to Lucknow where he wanted to meet Vajpayee.

The plane was carrying 48 passengers. The ATC had started communication with the hijacker and had kept the plane in the air for over an hour. However, when the pilots informed the ATC that they were running out of fuel, the aircraft was given permission to land at Amausi airport in Lucknow and the senior officials were discussing how to defuse the situation.

Recalling the incident, Tandon said: “Atalji then said if the man who had hijacked the plane wanted to meet him he would go to the airport and meet him.”

The officials initially did not allow this. They argued that the hijacker could be carrying weapon and could hurt Vajpayee.  So, it was decided that Vajpayee should be taken to the ATC from where he could speak to the hijacker. “Vajpayeeji boarded the car and reached the airport. He straightaway went to ATC and spoke to the hijacker,” Tandon recalled.

But the hijacker could not recognise Atalji’s voice. 

Vajpayee then boarded a gypsy and went towards the plane. The official there tried to initiate communication between the hijacker and Vajpayee. But the hijacker did not respond. He wanted Atalji to enter the aircraft.

With no option left, Priyadarshi gave permission to Atalji to enter the aircraft. The DM entered the plane first and when he gave signal, Vajpayee entered the aircraft along with Lalji Tandon. 

“The hijacker touched the feet of Atalji and surrendered,” Tandon said.