During the last fortnight, India has lost three of its stalwart politicians. Though all three politicians, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, M. Karunanidhi and Somnath Chatterjee belonged to different political parties, they played crucial roles in shaping the future of the country. They believed in different ideologies. But they had always placed India’s plurality and diversity above everything else. Their love for India ethos can be judged from the fact that even being the founder president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vajpayee on many occasions criticised the decision of politicising Ram Mandir issue and even threatened to leave the party when the disputed structure was demolished; being the son of a prominent Hindu Mahasabha leader, Somnath Chatterjee embraced Marxists ideology. Also one should remember the role played by M. Karunanidhi in mobilizing support against emergency.
Undoubtedly, Vajpayye was the tallest leader among these three. He became the Prime Minister thrice and earned the distinction of being the first non-Congress prime minister to complete full term in office. His greatest virtue was that he was never afraid of speaking the truth. Notwithstanding the political rivalry between the two parties, Vajpayee never shied away from praising Jawaharlal Nehru. The late leader openly declared his admiration about the first prime minister of India.
Moreover, Vajpayee often used to say that he owed his life to Nehru’s grandson Rajiv Gandhi as the then prime minister of India arranged the a best possible treatment for him when he was suffering from life-threatening kidney related diseases. The entire nation saw him in tears when another Congress leader Madhav
Rao Scindia lost his life in a tragic plane crash. Vajpayee very well knew the strength of truth. This is why even after acknowledging the good works done the party and its leaders, Vajpayee could become the most credible anti-Congress face in the country. In his departure, the country has lost a son for whom national interest was far and well above everything else.
On the other hand, M. Karunanidhi was not that visible in national politics. But every national party was keen to get his support as people of the country respected and admired him. This is why for the first time in the history India Parliament was adjourned for the day to pay respect to the departed soul, who was never a member of either of the house. He steered the nation and Tamil Nadu out of many crisis.
He played an undeniable role in keeping India united. A great believer of secularism, M. Karunanidhi throughout his life fought for democracy and nationalism. Last few years of his life he was not very active in day to day politics. But it was a must even for the national leaders to get his consent before every important decision.
Though he was never vocal about it, Somnath Chatterjee was a born rebel. Not only did he go against his father’s ideology, but also revolted against his party by refusing to step down from the post of the speaker in wake of Indo-US nuclear deal. His logic in support of his decision was straight and simple. The speaker should always be above politics.
The speaker is not bounded by party decisions. Thus being one of the prominent Left leaders in the country, he died without being the member of any political party.
Surely, Indian politics will miss these leaders immensely.
