Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister of India who was often known as a Pan-Indian and Pan-Party politician, has recently passed away on 16th August.
Cricket news: When team India came to meet the then Prime Minister before heading to Pakistan, he wrote a beautiful message on the bat
Vajpayee was considered as one of the founding members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he became the Prime Minister of the country in 1996.
He participated in the freedom struggles in 1940 and reformed many International trade and banking policies, Vajpayee was the person who has seen the country’s worst as well as best times.
He was a very inspiring, eye-catching and mesmerizing leader and stood apart with his dynamic leadership skills and unmatched poetic oration.
The 94-year-old former Prime Minister was admitted to the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the month of June and his condition had become fragile.
On Thursday he became terribly ill and the country was hoping he would fight past this adversity, but unfortunately he lost the inevitable battle.
Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram tweeted, “He will be remembered for many things, but above all for his genuine efforts to resolve the decades-long hostility between Pakistan and India,” which reflects that how he wanted for both the neighbouring countries to live in peace and harmony.
The Indian team led by Sourav Ganguly was ready to travel to Pakistan in 2004 for a full-fledged tour after 15 years.
It was Vajpayee who took the initiative of the tour as he was one of the persons who wanted cricket to be the link for better relations between the two countries.
When Ganguly and his team came to meet the former Prime Minister before going to Pakistan, Vajpayee wrote a beautiful message on the bat.
Vajpayee wrote just a few words to convey a heart-warming message which said, “Khel hi nahi, dil bhi jeetiye – shubhkamnaye” (Don’t just win the game, but hearts also – best wishes).
India won that year against Pakistan in the ODI series by 3-2 and also won the Test series 2-1 on that historic tour.