Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 2001 address from Red Fort changed negative perception towards BJP: Ram Nath Kovind

Recounting that event, Kovind said a Dalit Sangam rally was organised by the BJP on the grounds of the Red Fort. “Atal ji was the Prime Minister, Kushabhau Thackeray was the national president of the BJP and incidentally I was the national president of the BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha in those days. The current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, was in-charge of that rally,” he said.

“While addressing that rally, Atal ji declared that his government had been formed for the welfare of Dalits, backward people and the poor. ‘I want to make it clear that our government will not work on the basis of Manusmriti, but on the basis of Bhim Smriti. Bhim Smriti means the Constitution of India’,” said the former president.

He said Vajpayee declared from that platform the the BJP is not “Manuwadi but Bhimwadi i.e. Ambedkarwadi”. “Atal ji’s announcement is of historical importance; it played a positive role in removing the negative feeling towards the BJP from the minds of a section of society,” Kovind said.

He described Vajpayee as “Ajatashatru (a person who has no enemy)”. This memorial lecture is an attempt to continue Vajpayee’s legacy, said Kovind, delivering the address on the theme — ‘Social Empowerment Through Good Governance: The Vajpayee Way’. The lecture was organised by India Foundation, a think tank.

BJP MP and former Minister Jayant Sinha said Vajpayee was more than just a great parliamentarian and orator. “As the Prime Minister of the country he inspired all of us to follow the principles of good governance and deliver results for the last person in the line,” he said, adding that Vajpayee was dedicated to the poorest and the weakest.

“The poorest of the poor now have faith that Modi ji ki sarkar (PM Modi’s government) cares for them and they have a better future to look forward to,” Sinha said, adding that PM Modi’s good governance has led to extraordinary social empowerment.