Jang Bahadur Goyal 
This is the birth centenary year of the former Prime Minister of our country Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was a poet by nature, a sensitive human being, an effective orator, a visionary politician, an exemplary parliamentarian and a state-religion-following Prime Minister. I am fortunate to have had the privilege of seeing and meeting such a unique personality very closely.
I met him for the first time when the Kargil war was over. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to Jalandhar to participate in a function organized in Jalandhar to help the families of those martyred in that battle. At that time I was serving there as a Municipal Corporation Commissioner. After this event, a huge public event was held at Pratap Bagh in the evening. Along with the then mayor of Jalandhar, Suresh Sehgal, Vajpayee and I also had the honor of being presented with the ‘silver key’ of the city as a mark of respect by all the city residents. Mayor Suresh Sehgal in his welcome speech emphasized that the promise made by former Prime Minister Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral to build a ‘Railway Overbridge’ on the Damoria Bridge in Jalandhar at the Central expense should be fulfilled. . After the end of the event, when the Prime Minister was coming down from the stage, he put his hand on the shoulder of Mayor Suresh Sehgal and said, “Pul ke bahar, mujhe Delhi aa kar millna.”
A dinner was arranged in honor of the Prime Minister. On this occasion, apart from the elected dignitaries of the city, the then Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal and the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who was also the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the time, were present. For about 40-50 minutes, the dignitaries of the city had a very informal conversation with the Prime Minister in a very open and comfortable atmosphere. On this occasion, Vajpayee and others also recited some of their poems.
At the dinner table, I presented Vajpayee and others with my book Swami Vivekananda: His Human Bonds. He very slowly saw the title of the book and handed it over to his personal secretary. Meanwhile Prof. Dhumal told the Prime Minister about me that he is my classmate. He was very happy to hear this and patted me on the back.
My second meeting with him took place in the year 1999 when the ‘Winter Session’ of the Lok Sabha was going on. A newspaper editor gave us the date and time for a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee regarding Damoria Bridge. We reached Delhi with all necessary documents. Along with the editor, Mayor Suresh Sehgal and I met the Prime Minister in his Parliament House office. After the formal salutation and photo session, Mayor Suresh Sehgal started talking:
“Sir, when Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral came to Jalandhar for the first time after becoming the Prime Minister, he announced in a rally keeping in mind the strong demand of Jalandhar residents that the Government of India will build a railway overbridge on Damoria Bridge with its own resources. Construction will be done. It is very necessary to build this bridge, sir, because after a little rain, the traffic of the city stops up to Sodhal Chowk and the city is divided into two parts. Shown in which the ‘Confirmation’ of Mr. Gujral Ji’s announcement was recorded.
The Prime Minister saw the letter and said;
Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral was elected member of Lok Sabha from Jalandhar. Obviously, he would have given such an assurance to fulfill the demands of the people of his constituency, but it is not possible to fulfill this promise. There are 543 members in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha. There must be one or two cities in every MP’s constituency where ROB (Railway Over Bridge) is badly needed. Just imagine if it is possible for the central government to build ROBs everywhere at its own expense? If we do this in Jalandhar, we will create a precedent which may cause a big headache for us going forward.”
All three of us started looking at each other’s faces after listening to the Prime Minister’s solid and logical speech. Our tea went down. Hearts went out. Nothing was smooth. Suresh Sehgal beckoned me to speak. It was a time of great test for me. In front of the Prime Minister of the country, what can be done by a minor bureaucrat? Hesitating, I mustered up the courage to say something. I said, “Sir, Hon’ble Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral had announced that the Damoria Bridge would be repaired at the expense of the Central Government when he was the Prime Minister of the country. ‘Confirmation’ of this announcement has also been made by the Prime Minister’s Office. My request is that if the announcement of your predecessor does not come to fruition, the confidence given by the Prime Minister may be questioned.”
I said, I sat, I said, I went to Dahl. Had he thought and spoken, then he would not have been able to speak. This was only what came to my heart and was said by me. The Prime Minister became very serious after hearing the talk. There was silence in the room. He rested his head on the hollow end of the chair and was deep in thought.
All three of us were holding our breath. My hands and feet were shaking.
Suddenly, he waved both his hands in the air in a familiar fashion and said in a thunderous voice, “Hum Kisi Bhi Kahand Mein Pradhan Mantri Pad Ki Garima Par Aanch Nahi Aane Denge.” We will follow Gujral ji’s announcement completely. We will bear the full cost of this ROB.
Then he said to Mayor Suresh Sehgal, “Mahanpaur Mahodaya! Go to Jalandhar only after taking permission from Delhi.
Prime Minister asked us to meet Surface Transport Minister Rajnath Singh and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. Their offices were in the same building. When we went to meet him, he was informed about us from the Prime Minister’s Office before our departure.
After that, the magnificent construction of the railway over bridge at Damoria bridge took place which changed the fate of Jalandhar city. Understand that the century of the city is gone.
About the third meeting I remember that one night in the first week of January, 2003 I got a call on the land-line; “I am speaking Sudhinder Kulkarni from PMO.”
As soon as I heard ‘PMO’, my senses flew away.
Swami Vivekananda: Have you written the book ‘His Human Bonds’?
“Yes” I said, feeling scared.
“The Prime Minister has called you to Delhi on such and such date in connection with this book.”
I reached Delhi on the appointed date and time. First I met Kulkarni and others and they left me with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister told me, “This time I celebrated my birthday in Goa. I stayed there for a couple of days and during that time I read your book.
(I was surprised how many books are presented to the Prime Minister and other dignitaries and the general perception is that they hardly read but Vajpayee and others read the book and invited to meet its author.)
He started saying, “Swami Vivekananda is my role model. I have also read his complete literature and many books written on his life-philosophy but your book is different because it brings out the human side of Swamiji. I wanted to meet the author of this book. Let’s have tea now.’
After drinking tea I bowed my head and thanked Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Although Vajpayee is not in this world today, but whenever I remember the meetings with him, the heart is filled with a happy feeling.
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