Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Thursday recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's decisive contribution to the nation, saying that the Pokhran nuclear tests conducted during his tenure took place "before her very eyes".
Raje was then serving as the Union Minister of State for External Affairs. Raje said that working closely with ex-PM Vajpayee during one of the most defining moments in India’s strategic history taught her the importance of patience, resolve and calm leadership in extraordinary and challenging circumstances.
Recalling the late former prime minister's words, Raje said his lines continue to inspire her: "Let obstacles come, let terrifying storms surround us; let embers burn beneath our feet, let flames rain upon our heads. Smiling, with our own hands, we must set the fire and burn together we must move forward."
She was speaking at a programme organised in Jhalrapatan on the occasion of the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On the occasion, she gifted the people of Jhalrapatan the 'Atal Van' (Atal Forest). Under this initiative, a target has been set to plant 11,000 saplings.
Raje, a senior BJP leader, said that Vajpayee had also proved during the Kargil War that India knows very well how to teach its enemies a lesson. She added that landmark initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the Golden Quadrilateral Project were the result of Vajpayee’s far-sighted vision.
She said that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to realise Atalji's dreams in governance". Vajpayee’s vision of interlinking rivers, she noted, was unparalleled. Quoting more of the former PM's poetry, Raje said his words teach the nation to move forward with self-confidence even in adverse circumstances: "Come, let us light the lamp again; even when darkness prevails at noon, when the sun is defeated by shadows, let us draw love from within and ignite the extinguished wick.
Come, let us light the lamp again." Addressing the gathering, MP Dushyant Singh said that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to the United Nations for the first time to deliver an address, he spoke in Hindi. After his speech, world leaders applauded him with a standing ovation.