Remembering Babosa

The entire political spectrum joined hands to pay glowing tributes to one of India’s most seasoned politicians and former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (87) who breathed his last on Saturday.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: He was a mass leader and an Ajatshatru. I cannot bear his loss. His death has left me stunned as he was a close friend with whom I had seen many ups and downs in politics. His death is the end of an era.

LK Advani: He ensured that the Antodaya scheme meant to deliver the benefits of development to the last man in the queue was implemented in the right earnest. It is a great loss for BJP and the nation.

Pratibha Patil: Shekhawat was a personality who deeply understood the concerns and aspirations of the poorest of the poor. Shekhawat’s understanding of the desires of the common man was a result of his experiences early in his life when he had to give up his education to support his family following his father’s death.

Hamid Ansari: He earned the respect and admiration of the people for his dedication, sense of public service and innate simplicity. His services to the country shall always be remembered.

Manmohan Singh: Together with a few others, he defined a whole era in the BJP. His many qualities of head and heart included a liberal outlook and generosity of spirit.

Mohan Bhagwat (RSS chief): This is an end of a hard working swayamsevak who was sensitive to the problems faced by poor and downtrodden.

Arun Jaitley: He was a great social reformer who abolished the system of Sati. His death is a big blow to the party.

Mamata Banerjee: Shekhawat will be long remembered for his liberal outlook, administrative acumen, simplicity and sensitivity towards the problems of disadvantaged sections.

Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot, Mayawati, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, K Rosaiah, M Karunanidhi, Governors SS Barnala, K Sankaranarayanan, NN Vohra, ESL Narasimhan, MOH Farooq and Rameshwar Thakur besides leaders like Jayalalithaa, Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, Farooq Abdullah, Natwar Singh and Vilasrao Deshmukh too joined the nation in mourning the loss of ‘babosa,’ as Shekhawat was fondly called.