Atalji was a leader of value politics

We recently saw the opposition's uproar in the winter session of the Lok Sabha.

- Dharampal Singh

We recently saw the opposition's uproar in the winter session of the Lok Sabha. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded the opposition of the 13-day government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said market politics ("buying and selling") took place even then, but Atalji never tried making a deal.

This was because he was dedicated to the Constitution and democratic values. It was this supreme sentiment of politics of values and the goal of nation first on whose emotional ground Atalji once said: "Governments will come and go, parties will be formed, will break, but this country should persist."

In 1998, in his first address to the nation as PM from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he had said: "Never in my life did I compromise with the principles in the greed for power. And I will not do so in the future either. The company of power and the exile of the opposition are the same for me."

Today, when the opposition makes a farce of asking for 'proof' on issues like national security, Atalji set new standards of decorum while being in the opposition for more than four decades.