Arjun Singh had admirers galore in BJP
March 5th, 2011 - 8:19 pm ICT by IANS
Bhopal, March 5 (IANS) A political adversary undoubtedly — but veteran Congress leader Arjun Singh had a lot of admirers in the Bharatiya Janata Party who termed his death a personal loss and admitted to learning the art of politics from him.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cancelled celebrations of his 53rd birthday Saturday, and declared a three-day state mourning for the three-time chief minister, who died in New Delhi Friday.
State BJP chief Prabhat Jha went to the Congress office and participated in a memorial function.
Former chief ministers Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Kailash Chander Joshi termed Arjun Singh’s death as “a personal loss”.
“Personally, I consider Arjun Singh like my father and I have learnt a lot politically from him. How to respect the opposition? How to face ups and downs in political career? Because of all these, he was a legendary politician of India. At this time of grief, I am with his family,” said Uma Bharti.
Guar, who is now the urban development minister, said: “It is my personal loss. He was a national leader, an able administrator and my friend. He has given a lot to Madhya Pradesh in the field of education.”
Joshi said that despite their differences, Arjun Singh was always polite to him. “Even after my differences with him on Churhat lottery issue, whenever he met me, it was with warmth. He respected public feeling and sorted out several issues very sensibly. The impact of his death will affect the state for a long time,” said Joshi, currently an MP.
Political observers acknowledge the respect BJP leaders gave Arjun Singh.
“Arjun Singh had good relations with several BJP leaders. Once Babulal Gaur had publicly admitted in a function that he had won his first election because of Arjun Singh. Uma Bharti never said anything against him in her political career,” senior journalist N.D. Sharma told IANS.
Close aide Akbar Mohammad Khan, who was with Arjun Singh for 28 years, told IANS: “He was a mature and sensible leader. Every political leader, whether in Delhi or in Madhya Pradesh has learnt from him. He was himself a university of politics.”
- BJP will be no.3 in UP, says ex-CM - Feb 16, 2012
- Chouhan completes five years in office, Modi missing at event - Nov 29, 2010
- Madhya Pradesh BJP abuzz over Uma Bharti's return - Jun 07, 2011
- CWC condoles Arjun Singh's demise, describes him a symbol of secular values - Mar 05, 2011
- Arjun Singh stood for marginalised sections: Krishna - Mar 05, 2011
- Congress mourns Arjun Singh's death - Mar 04, 2011
- Campaigning over, UP politicians unwind - Mar 02, 2012
- BJP's Uma calculations go wrong - Mar 06, 2012
- Advani hits out at anti-politician stance of Hazare supporters - Apr 12, 2011
- Uma Bharti homecoming may help BJP in Uttar Pradesh - Jun 07, 2011
- All eyes on Arjun Singh's autobiography - Mar 08, 2011
- Chouhan making song and dance of his full term in office - Nov 20, 2010
- Won't blame Uma Bharti for UP results: Anurag Thakur - Mar 06, 2012
- Shabana mourns loss of Arjun Singh - Mar 05, 2011
- Vajpayee, Modi among BJP's star campaigners - Jan 09, 2012
Tags: arjun singh, babulal gaur, bharatiya janata party, bjp chief, bjp leaders, chander, chief minister, chief ministers, congress leader, congress office, development minister, joshi, kailash, mohammad khan, personal loss, political career, political observers, prabhat jha, uma bharti, ups and downs