No regrets for voting against him, but sad over demise: Soz

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar August 16

Senior politician Saifuddin Soz, the parliamentarian who voted against Atal Bihari Vajpayee resulting in the fall of his government on April 17, 1999, says that he has no regrets about his decision but is sad over his demise.

“No, I don’t have any regrets because that vote was against National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah for supporting the BJP. It impacted Vajpayee but he knew that I could not be sure that his government would fall by only one vote,” Soz told The Tribune.

Soz, then a National Conference member, said two days after that historic vote, he met Vajpayee, who had “realised that the vote was not against him”.

Recalling the scene in the Parliament, Soz said RJD leader Lalu Prasad exclaimed “Soz ki jai ho” while BJP leader Rangarajan Kumaramangalam said “Soz ney dubho diya”.

However, Soz said Vajpayee created a situation of sustained hope by signing the Lahore declaration with former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in February 1999. “Vajpayee had realised long back that the neighbourhood couldn’t be changed,” he said.