Vajpayee, a man of values who decried divisive ideology of his partymen

But in the short 13-month term of the second Vajpayee government, he made his mark by making India a declared nuclear weapon power

It was the summer of 1996. The Congress government of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had lost the general election and, for the first time, there was an opportunity for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), headed by the moderate and well-liked Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to take power.

He lacked parliamentary majority but nevertheless made the bid to form a government and become Prime Minister — an ambition that he had long nurtured but which seemed elusive despite being in public life as a popular leader for long.

The moment it became clear that Vajpayee would be the man to lead the next government in India, I made a beeline to his house at 5 Raisina Road which was almost a stone’s throw from the Press Club of India. Vajpayee was a people’s man and security was light around him those days. I and a colleague, Mayank Chhaya, opened the gates of his bungalow and walked in to his secretary’s office. I asked his aides if he was busy. One of them pointed outside the window.

Also read : How Vajpayee met foreign policy challenges, made India a nuclear power

There, standing all by himself, in an inconspicuous corner of the bungalow, seemingly staring into space, was the man of the moment — in his trademark starched white dhoti and collarless kurta — who would be the Prime Minister of India in a few days.

We congratulated him. He smiled and ushered us in. Vajpayee had often wondered aloud whether he would forever remain prime minister-in-waiting as the BJP, with its hardline Hindu nationalist ideology, was not a popular favourite of the country then.

Article Source : BS

Investors richer in Modi's 'acche din' than under Vajpayee's 'India shining'

Both these indices have surged a whopping 55 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively under PM Modi (till August 14 2018) – hugely outperforming the rally seen during 1999 – 2004.

The markets have performed better under the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) Narendra Modi, as compared to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as India’s Prime Minister (PM).

The Nifty 50 index (Nifty as it was known then), notched up a gain of 5.7 per cent, while the Sensex lost one per cent on an absolute basis between October 13, 1999 when Vajpaee assumed charge as the PM, till May 19, 2004 when he left office, data shows.

Atal bihari vajpayee

Both these indices have surged a huge 55 per cent and 53 per cent, respectively under PM Modi (till August 14 2018) – hugely outperforming the rally seen during 1999 – 2004. This is despite the two key events, demonetisation drive in 2016 and the rush to implement the goods and services tax (GST), which disrupted the economic growth momentum.

The gain under Vajpayee’s tenure, analysts say, came on the back of government’s increased focus on infrastructure development, especially roads (the golden quadrilateral, or the GQ) and pushing for big bang reforms such as the four big-ticket strategic divestments – in Bharat Aluminium and Hindustan Zinc (both to Sterlite Industries), Indian Petrochemicals Corporation (to Reliance Industries) and VSNL (to the Tata group).

Also Read : Vajpayee’s death: Railway exams to be conducted today as scheduled

Besides the reform / policy measures under the Modi’s regime, a key factor that drove markets higher has been flows – both domestic and foreign – into the equity markets. That apart, India was a favourite among the foreign investors in the emerging market pack given the health of the other major global economies.

“Modi has been good with reforms as well and opened foreign direct investment (FDI) avenues, such as in insurance and aviation. Demonetisation, though a drastic step, was seen as a measure to tackle the menace of black money. Investors saw this in a positive light.

Article Source : BS