Atal Ji Was My Closest Friend for Over 65 Years, Says Advani

I cherish the memories of my long association with him, right from our days as Pracharaks of the RSS, Advani said.

In this 30 Nov, 1997 file photo, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders LK Advani (R), Jaswant Singh (C) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee (L) address reporters after meeting with Indian President KR Narayanan. 

(Photo: AP)

Former Deputy Prime Minister of India Lal Krishna Advani, during his time at the helm of the Bhartiya Janata Party, was inseparable from his friend Atal Bihari Vajpayee for 65 years. On Thursday, Advani's companion for than six decades, passed away in the national capital.

"His captivating leadership qualities, mesmerising oratory, soaring patriotism and above all, his sterling humane qualities like compassion, humility and his remarkable ability to win over adversaries despite ideological differences have all had a profound effect on me in all my years in public life," Advani said in a statement.

Here's a full statement of the former BJP president and Vajpayee's long-time friend, Lal Krishna Advani:

I am at a loss of words to express my deep grief and sadness today as we all mourn the passing away of one of India's tallest statesmen, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To me, Atalji was more than a senior colleague- in fact he was my closest friend for over 65 years.

I cherish the memories of my long association with him, right from our days as Pracharaks of the RSS, to the inception of Bharatiya Jana Singh, the struggle of the dark months during the Emergency leading to the formation of Janata Party and later the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.

Atalji will be remembered as the pioneer of the first ever stable non-Congress coalition government at the Centre and I had the privilege of working as his deputy for six years.

As my senior, he always encouraged and guided me in every possible manner.

His captivating leadership qualities, mesmerising oratory, soaring patriotism and above all, his sterling humane qualities like compassion, humility and his remarkable ability to win over adversories despite ideological differences have all had a profound effect on me in all my years in public life.

I will miss Atalji immensely...