Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a persuader not a crusader, says S Jaipal Reddy

S Jaipal Reddy drew a distinction between former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP's current leadership

Senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy has been rehabilitated as a party spokesperson. Speaking at his first press conference on Tuesday, Reddy said his would be an occasional presence as he needed to prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 

Drawing a distinction between former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bharatiya Janata Party’s current leadership, Reddy said Vajpayee was a persuader not a crusader. He said that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, “lightweights” like  Nirmala Sitharaman (defence minister) had been elevated while heavyweights like M M Joshi were eliminated and middleweights marginalised.

Beyond the party line