Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the biggest custodians of democratic system in the world. That has be proved many a times. A to be released book – The Reverse Swing: Colonialism to Cooperation, written by his adviser and veteran journalist Ashok Tandon just stamp it further.
Indian Express has published an excerpt from book which states that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2002, when he was the prime minister turned down suggestions from his team to become the President and leave the premiership to his deputy L K Advani.
Vajpayee, a torch bearer of democracy and democratic system said that a prime minister becoming the President using the majority in electoral college would not augur well in a parliamentary democracy like India and would set a “very dangerous precedent”,
At a time when politicians are power hungry and are said to go to any extent, example of Atal Bihari Vajpayee can be an eye opener for those who still has some democratic values left in their course of action.
There were rumours that Vajpayee would recommend Governor of Maharashtra P C Alexander for the presidential post to put an end to prospects of Sonia Gandhi as prime minister. The county could not have afford two Christians occupying the top two positions in the country.
But to surprise of many, Vajpayee recommended name of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and received consensus from Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The book, published by Prabhat Prakashan, showcases New India's march to glory leaving behind the unfortunate and painful memories of foreign subjugation spanning several centuries.
The author has penned down the historical events and the transformations in the Indo-UK relations since independence, not with a view to reopen the wounds of colonial rule but to enlighten the present generations, particularly the large Indian Diaspora, with what India had to undergo prior to independence in 1947 and how it has excelled in various sectors to become world's fifth largest economy and earned a pride of place in the comity of nations.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
