During his tenure as Prime Minister, Vajpayee had given the Steel and Mines portfolio to Naveen Patnaik in his cabinet. He was among the top leaders who shaped his political career.
“He was a great leader and it was always a very good experience to have worked under him,” Naveen had said following his demise.
Senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya said, “During the formation of the BJD, both Atal ji and Advani ji had given us the mental courage. Whenever Naveen Babu had sought advice, Atal ji was used to give him constructive advice.”
To strengthen the party base of the BJP, Vajpayee had visited Odisha a number of times. In 1981, he had visited Rourkela to review the organizational activity of the party.
After forming the government at the Centre in 1999, Vajpayee, for the first time, had created the Tribal Affairs ministry and entrusted the portfolio to Jual Oram.
“For the tribals, Dalits, backward communities, poor and downtrodden, he was like a God. While giving me the portfolio, he had inspired me to work with diligence and without any fear,” Oram said.
“His ideals were so inspiring that it had given me the strength to discharge my duty with full vigour,” said Debendra Pradhan, another Odisha leader, who was also a Union minister in the Vajpayee’s cabinet.”
Apart from Naveen Patnaik, Jual Oram and Debendra Pradhan, Vajpayee had also inducted Arjun Sethi, Braja Kishore Tripathy and Dilip Ray as Union Ministers in his cabinet.
Senior Congress leader and president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik said he had met Vajpayee when in the Opposition.
“He was a man of very impressive personality. I like his speech. What I have felt that despite being in the BJP, Vajpayee was a secular leader,” he pointed out.
