Vajpayee had ability to connect with people: Naidu

Paying homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his first death anniversary, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said that Vajpayee had an uncanny ability to connect with people across the political spectrum and had virtually no enemies.

Naidu was in Kolkata on Friday to unveil a portrait of Vajpayee at the Rabindranath Tagore Centre at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

“Atal Ji had an uncanny ability to connect with people from all walks of life and with political parties of different ideological moorings. Atal Ji had virtually no enemies and was rightly called as Ajatshatru. #atalji #AtalBihariVajpayee,” the Vice President’s secretariat quoted Naidu in a tweet.

Describing the former prime minister as a strong believer in a “forward-looking, forward-moving India” Naidu also said that he firmly believed that India rightfully deserves to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

“#Atalji strongly believed in a forward-looking, forward moving India, a strong and prosperous nation confident of its rightful place on the international fora. He firmly believed that India has a legitimate right to becoming a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council,” Naidu stated in another tweet by the vice president’s secretariat.

He also lauded the former prime minister of boosting the country’s infrastructure and ensuring rapid expansion of the telecom sector.

“Atal ji gave an unprecedented fillip to the building of national highways, rural roads, air travel infrastructure and massive expansion of the telecom sector. For him, connectivity was the key enabler of economic development and national growth. #atalji #AtalBihariVajpayeeJi,” he was quoted in another tweet.

“Atal Ji demonstrated how democracy can be strengthened through good governance and the former Prime Minister ushered in a ‘connectivity’ revolution in the country. #atalji #AtalBihariVajpayeeJi,” added Naidu.