Chandigarh, August 16, 2018: Punjab BJP leaders today mourned the demise of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee describing his death an irreparable loss for the nation. “Atal ji was a statesman, an ideal politician, great orator and a parliamentarian who had respect for our institutions and traditions. He was the one who gave India a new identity and status by conducting nuclear tests in Pokhran,” said BJP national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, union minister Vijay Sampla, former minister Manoranjan Kalia, former national secretary Harjit Singh Grewal, former state BJP president Ashwini Sharma and former state party secretary Vineet Joshi in a condolence message released here today.
Avinash Rai Khanna, who personally got a chance to work with the BJP patriacrch as a parliamentarian said, “Atal ji was a poet, a writer, a visionary and an open-minded leader who was even revered by his political opponents.”