HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Dec 25: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee had played a leading role in introducing ‘good governance’ into the country’s administrative machinery.
The chief minister said this while attending the ‘Susashan Divas’or ‘Good Governance Day’ celebrations hosted by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority at the Atal Udyan in Maligaon in the city. The day coincides with the 99th birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation for construction of a statue of the former Prima Minister at the Atal Udyan. December 25 is being observed as ‘Susashan Divas’ or ‘Governance Day’ across the country since 2014 as a mark of tribute towards the late visionary leader, who had led the nation to new heights of glory during his tenures as the Prime Minister.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Sarma said, “The former Jan Sangh leader led an eventful life during which he donned the hat of a poet, a journalist, a pracharak for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the founder president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, parliamentarian for numerous times, Union minister of external affairs as well as the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha. In his role as Prime Minister, Vajpayee scripted new chapters in the nation’s march to glory and greatness.
“Vajpayee as a personality with indomitable spirit and never conceded to defeat even during the worst times of the BJP,” Sarma said.
The CM also said that Vajpayee had laid the foundation of the developed India that current Prime Minister Narendra Modi aspires to achieve, referring to Vajpayee’s leadership qualifies that led to the successful atomic weapons testing at Pokhran and the national expansion of national highways.
“The Kargil victory was a high watermark of late Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister and it was also during his tenure that the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) was established with the aim of expediting the development process of the northeastern states,” Sarma said.
Expressing gratitude towards Vajpayee for having a soft corner in his heart that was reflected in the pro-NE policies during his tenure as Prime Minister, the chief minister said that all are now working to transform the dreams of the late great leader for the Northeast into reality under the dynamic leadership and guidance of the current PM Modi.
State Assam minister of public health engineering department Jayanta Malla Baruah, MP Queen Ojha, MP and political secretary to chief minister Pabitra Margherita, president of Assam Pradesh BJP Bhabesh Kalita, GMDA chairman Narayan Deka, Guwahati Municipal Corporation mayor Mrigen Sarania along with a host of other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.