Such a person is rarely born: Sharad Yadav on Vajpayee

Opposition leader Sharad Yadav, who served in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Cabinet, today described the former prime minister as a statesman and one of the greatest leaders India has produced.

"He was a great human being, poet, leader and above all a statesman," Yadav said in a statement.

He recalled that Vajpayee was one of the four MPs who had won on the ticket of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1957 and then president S Radhakrishnan was surprised to hear the party's name as "he had not heard of it".

"It showed that he was a very popular leader with whose name the party became known to Parliament," Yadav said.

Born in a humble family, Vajpayee worked as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak and served the BJP in various capacities, including as its president. Later, he became a cabinet minister at the Centre and then prime minister.

"Such people are rarely born," he said.

"In his passing away, I have not only lost my beloved person but the country has lost a great patriot, parliamentarian, statesman and a veteran leader, who was very popular for his non-partisan politics," he said.