Atal Bihari Vajpayee realised virtues of both consensus & harmony: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has been conferred with the Bharat Ratna on the eve of his 90th birthday, was a product of the democratic system and realised "the virtues of both consensus and harmony".

"Atalji is the product of a democratic system, and trained in parliamentary values. He realised the virtues of both consensus and harmony...," Jaitley said in an article.

"He was unquestionably the greatest orator India has heard since Independence. He could play with words but he was always measured. He was a wordsmith. He never fell into temptation of committing an impropriety. He realised virtues of social harmony. His ability to rise above the party for a larger national cause was significant," he said.

Jaitley, while recalling his days with the former Prime Minister, said his conduct of the Cabinet Meetings was never tense and if anyone raised any point or even contradicted, he encouraged discussion though the last word would belong to him.

"He was liberal in his economic thinking. He realised the importance of infrastructure creation. The National Highway programme, and the power sector reforms are the part of his legacy. He was committed to normalising the relations with our neighbouring countries," he said.

In the article, "Atal Ji - The Gentle Giant", the Finance Minister said his 'Bus initiative' with Pakistan was undertaken at a great political risk, since his own constituency had to be convinced of this.

In 2003, he tried to normalise relationship with China, and signed an agreement on settlement of the boundary dispute. A new chapter in the Indo-US relationship was authored during his tenure, he said.