IRREPARABLE LOSS

Sir — This refers to the report, “A titan’s journey ends” (August 17). Seeing the high price of petrol now, I remember how Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived at Parliament House in a bullock cart in November 1973, to protest against the increase in petrol and kerosene prices. Vajpayee was also known for his oratory skills, so much so that it was Nehru who had noticed his questions and speeches in the Lok Sabha and had predicted that Vajpayee would become the Prime Minister one day.

As a Prime Minister, Vajpayee’s biggest gifts were the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, not the nuclear tests that he is remembered for today. He will also be remembered as a politician who was civil in public discourse. His passing away is a great loss to the nation.