Vajpayee’s sense of humour

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose birth anniversary falls on December 25, uncannily combined Nehruvian thought and RSS ideology. His wit came to the fore especially during public rallies, of which I attended six in a span of 40 years.

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I heard him first when he was a Jana Sangh leader. The party was of the view that farming should be done with the help of bullocks instead of tractors. Highlighting the problem of pollution caused by the use of diesel-run tractors, this is what he said at a rally in Chandigarh: ‘Jab humne kaha ke kheti bailon se ki jaani chahiye toh Congress ke mitr kehne lage, ye Jana Sangh valey purane vichaaron valey dakiyaanoosi hain. Ab dekhiye: Tel Iran mein, tractor Hindustan mein… aur dhuan? Dhuan aasmaan mein.’

When the late YB Chavan, a Congressman and former defence minister, joined the Janata Party for a while, and then rejoined the Congress, Vajpayee took a swipe at him during a rally: ‘Humne Chavan saab se poochha ke yeh aapne kya kiya to unhon ne uttar diya ke ab ham ghar vapis aa gaye hain. To koi unse poochhey ke ab tak kya vey sasural mein thhey!’

When Chaudhary Charan Singh left the Cabinet of the Janata Party government because of his differences with the then Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, Vajpayee and others persuaded him to join back. Charan Singh’s return eventually proved counterproductive for the government. This is how Vajpayee took potshots at him: ‘Humne socha tha ke Chaudhary bhai dil badal kar [change of heart] vapis aaye hain, humein kya pata tha ke voh dil nahin dal [party] badal kar aaye hain.’ His wordplay left the audience in splits.

When he was accused of adopting double standards, he quipped, ‘Main Atal bhi hoon aur Bihari bhi.’ This remark intrigued me. Probably he meant that he could be firm or flexible, depending on the situation.

During a rally at Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh, over two decades ago, he said: ‘Aapke mukhya mantri bhadr [courteous] toh hain… par veer [brave] nahin.’ He was referring to the then Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, who was believed to be having differences with the Congress high command. Maybe Vajpayee was egging him on to quit the party or revolt against it.

The last I heard him was at a rally on the Ridge in Shimla. He was not his usual self and looked a little jaded. Perhaps ill health had caught up with him.