Udupi: The district BJP leaders condoled the death of former prime minister and former national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Atal Bihari Vajpayee and paid tribute to the veteran party leader at Town Hall, Ajjarkad near here on Friday, August 17.
Top district leaders of the BJP mourned his passing and spoke about the leader at the memorial.
Mattar Rathnakar Hegde, District President of BJP said, “It was Atalji’s exemplary leadership that set the foundation for a strong, prosperous and inclusive India. Atalji had cherished the idea of a developed and powerful India in which all people lived together in unity, peace, and harmony. He was a true Ajatashatru (One without enemies), who had many friends across the political spectrum. He believed in political consensus and his beliefs had consequential effect on Indian politics.”
He added that Atalji was someone who anchored the BJP close to the middle and did not allow the party to swing to the extreme right of the political spectrum. “In fact, he had no enemies and that was his distinguishing hallmark. The BJP patriarch would be remembered for many things but, above all, for his genuine efforts to resolve the decades-long hostility between Pakistan and India. Vajpayee emerged as a popular national leader who believed that power is a means of service and led a spotless political career. He dedicated his life to serve the nation and now, the nation has lost an important political figure who was also an orator, poet, writer and intellectual,” he said.
Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC and Opposition leader at Legislative Council, senior BJP leader Somashekar Bhat and D Ravindra of the RSS also paid tribute on the occasion.
Raghupathy Bhat, Udupi MLA; Haladi Srinivas Shetty, Kundapur MLA; Sukumar Shetty, Byndoor MLA; Lalaji Mendon, Kaup MLA and other leaders were present.
Earlier, Kuthyaru Naveen Shetty welcomed the gathering and Kulyadi Suresh Nayak compered the programme.
