Vajpayee death mourned in S’pur

Common people and leaders across party line expressed deep condolences over the death of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee here on Thursday.

“A statesman like Vajpayee could not be confined within a party,” said many leaders here.  “What to speak of own party, leaders in Congress from Nehru, Rajiv to Narasingha Rao recognised the acumen of Vajpayee and respected him as an indisputable leader,” said former Congress MLA and DCC president Aswini Guru.

Although he was a firebrand leader of BJP, but the Congress respected him. He was sent to the UN as the representative of India to address the General Assembly there though Congress was in power then, recalled senior leader of the party Sureswar Mishra.

BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari described the demise of the former PM as an irreparable loss to the nation. “It is difficult to have a second man like him,” Pujari said further. “He took many daring step like bus journey to Lahore, frequent discussions with Pakistani counterparts for a peaceful settlement of Kashmir issue etc. At the same time the second nuclear test in 1998 at Pokhran was another example of his daring step where the code word was Budhha laughed,” said BJD MLA of Sambalpur Dr Raseswari Panigrahi.

Leaders apart, thousands of common people are also deeply shocked here at the death news of Vajpayee. A number of condolence meetings were organised in different places to pay homage to the departed soul.

“The country lost such a man for whom there is no substitute at all,” the speakers said.