Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus ride to Lahore in February 1999
India’s beloved former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained unmarried his entire life, but there was a time when he was proposed to by a woman, a Pakistani woman to be precise. On the late prime minister’s 101st birth anniversary on Thursday, defence minister Rajnath Singh narrated the anecdote, recalling Vajpayee’s repartee and sense of humour.Singh recalled that during Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore, a Pakistani woman reporter proposed to him, inspired by his speech.”I would like to share one incident. Inspired by his speech, a Pakistani reporter said she was ready to marry him, but sought ceding of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan in Mehr,” Singh said.Atalji, with a smile on his face, said, ‘Madam, I am ready to marry you, but in return, I want Pakistan as dowry,” Singh said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience. Vajpayee definitely had a way with his words. He was admired for his oratory skills across parties and was an accomplished poet known for his patriotic and humanist compositions.Once, when a supporter urged him to remain “atal” (unshakeable), Vajpayee quipped back playfully, with, “Atal toh hoon, lekin Bihari bhi hoon!” (“I am Atal, but I am also a Bihari!”).Vajpayee travelled to Lahore by bus in 1999 and embraced Pakistan’s then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, a gesture that came to symbolise hope for better ties between the two neighbours. However, the bonhomie did not last long. Just months later, the Pakistan Army carried out a covert operation to send troops into the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir, triggering a limited conflict that Pakistan ultimately lost.Rashtra Prerna Sthal was inaugurated by PM Modi on Thursday and has been developed as a landmark national memorial and inspirational complex of enduring national significance. Constructed at an approximate cost of Rs 230 crore and spread across an expansive area of 65 acres.
