Union Minister for Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu was all praise for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee whom he credited with laying the foundation for India’s transformation into a superpower-in–the–making.
Speaking at the Good Governance Day marking the 92nd birthday of the former Prime Minister here on Sunday, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said Mr. Vajpayee came from a non-political background (his father was a teacher) and was a strong critic of Jawaharlal Nehru, who strode the Indian political arena like a colossus.
Nevertheless, Mr. Vajpayee went on to become the Prime Minister through sheer hard work and by maintaining the highest standards of probity in public life.
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The nuclear bomb test explosions at Pokhran in 1998, which catapulted India on to the global stage, the new chapter of friendship with Pakistan signified by the introduction of a bus service from Delhi to Lahore, the Golden Quadrilateral national highway network, Special Economic Zones, the telecommunication revolution and Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana were among the several achievements of Mr. Vajpayee, the Union Minister observed.
Mr. Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was following the path of good governance laid by Mr. Vajpayee, whose most crucial contribution to nation-building was the string of economic reforms implemented by him in their true spirit.
Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas, BJP leaders J. Syam Kishore and V. Srinivasa Raju, BJP Mahila Morcha State president S. Malathi Rani were among those present.
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