'Our nation will always be grateful to him': PM Modi writes article in tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth centenary

In an article, Modi wrote, "Our nation will always be grateful to Atal Ji for being the architect of India’s transition into the 21st century. When he took oath as PM in 1998 our nation had passed through a period of political instability. In about 9 years we had seen 4 Lok Sabha elections.

"The people of India were getting impatient and also sceptical about governments being able to deliver. It was Atal Ji who turned this tide by providing stable and effective governance. Coming from humble roots, he realised the struggles of the common citizen and the transformative power of effective governance."

Modi heavily credited Vajpayee for the advancement of technology at a time the current regime is paying huge attention towards IT and digitisation.

The Prime Minister wrote, "One can see the long-term impact of Atal Ji’s leadership in so many sectors around us. His era marked a gigantic leap in the world of Information Technology, telecom and communications. This was particularly important for a nation like ours, which is also blessed with a very dynamic Yuva Shakti.

"The NDA Government under Atal Ji made the first serious attempt to make technology accessible to the common citizens. At the same time, there was foresight in connecting India."

Modi highlighted the importance of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which ran the government for an uninterrupted term from 1999-2004.

The Prime Minister's reference is significant as the Modi government is currently lacking the majority for the first time in 10 years.

The BJP, which won 240 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, needs the mandatory support of allies including the powerful regional satraps like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United).

Modi said, "Atal Ji understood Indian democracy and also the need to make it stronger. Atal Ji presided over the creation of the NDA, which redefined coalitions in Indian politics. He brought people together and made NDA a force for development, national progress and regional ambitions. His Parliamentary brilliance was seen throughout his political journey.

"He belonged to a party with a handful of MPs but his words were enough to rattle the might of the all-powerful Congress Party that time. As Prime Minister, he blunted the criticisms of the Opposition with style and substance."

"His was a career spent largely in the Opposition benches but never carried any trace of bitterness against anyone, even though the Congress stooped to new lows by going to the extent of calling him a traitor!"

Vajpayee, whose first term as the Prime Minister lasted only 13 days in 1996, returned to the top position in 1998 to lead the nation till 2004.

A bachelor all his life, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2015

The external affairs minister in the cabinet of the Morarji Desai government in late 70s, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over four decades.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha  (lower house) ten times and twice to the Rajya Sabha (upper house).

He represented the Lucknow parliamentary seat in  Uttar Pradesh until 2009 when he retired from active politics.

Considered a moderate and a voice of reason, he was among the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh- the predecessor of the present day BJP. He had headed it from 1968 to 1972.

Vajpayee first joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological patron of the BJP, in 1939 and in 1951, he was entrusted to work with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of BJP.