Two PMs of different hues

The most crucial point of difference between the two leaders, may lie in their worldviews. Modi is willing to raise questions, that Vajpayee avoided

Reactions to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death reconfirmed the huge popularity the leader enjoyed not just among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadre but a vast swathe of the political leadership. His funeral procession through Delhi was reminiscent of the sort of public grief usually associated with the passing of South Indian thespians. Tears flowed freely at the subsequent shraddhanjali sabha organised by the government.

Opeds written in the aftermath of Vajpayee’s death have focused on his political and economic legacy, the first characterised by his large-heartedness, most notably on Kashmir, and the second by his determination to