Second session of 'Atal Sansmaran Vyakhyanmala' organised in Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, Oct 29 (IANS) The second session of 'Atal Sansmaran Vyakhyanmala' was successfully organised by SPIPA, under the General Administration Department (GAP) on Tuesday.

The ‘Atal Sansmaran Vyakhyanmala’ is being organised to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna, late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

On the occasion, Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and former Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy stated that Atal Bihari Vajpayee possessed a magnificent personality and was an intellectual, a poet, a philosopher, and an outstanding politician.

“Vajpayee ji never allowed power, position, wealth, or politics to influence his vision. National interest, welfare of Indian citizens, and peaceful coexistence were always at the core of his policies,” he said.

He added that Vajpayee was an eloquent orator, fluent in Hindi, English, and Urdu and was never opposed to any ideology, policy, or thought and never offended anyone on a personal level.

“Because of such qualities, even his political opponents admired him. He mentioned that Vajpayee's political career began in the 1950s, spanning over five decades. He served as MP for 10 terms in Lok Sabha and 2 terms in Rajya Sabha,” he said.

Chinoy, praising the contribution of Vajpayee in India’s foreign policy, said that he worked to advance international relations, especially with China and Pakistan, and it was result-oriented.

“Vajpayee proved to be excellent both as Foreign Minister and as Prime Minister, exemplified by the Lahore Bus Yatra with Pakistan and the decision not to cross the Line of Control during the Kargil conflict. Furthermore, his negotiations with China proved to be a significant success,” he recalled.

Chinoy also pointed out that this resulted in the recognition of Sikkim as an integral part of India and the commencement of talks with Special Representatives for border negotiations.

“Additionally, Vajpayeeji's role as the architect of the post-Cold War strategic partnership between India and the United States proved to be very important,” he recalled.

On this occasion, a large number of officers and employees of the General Administration Department and SPIPA, representatives of AMA, including faculty members and students of Defence Studies, were also present.

--IANS

mr/dan