Vajpayee did not allow BJP to swing to extreme right: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday described former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a man of wisdom, tolerance and compassion and who did not allow the party to swing to the extreme right of the political spectrum.

"Vajapyee ji was a man of great wisdom, tolerance and compassion. He led his party to its first victory in national elections and established the credentials of the BJP to run the central government.

"He will be remembered for many things but above all for his genuine efforts to resolve the decades-long hostility between Pakistan and India," he said in a series of tweets.

Chidambaram said as long as he was at the helm, he resolutely anchored the BJP close to the middle and did not allow the party to swing to the extreme right of the political spectrum.

"It is not the fact that Vajpayee ji had many friends, it is the fact that he had no enemies that was his distinguishing hallmark," he said. - IANS