Uma Bharti regrets not saying 'sorry' to Vajpayee

Union minister and BJP leader Uma Bharti today expressed "regret" for "not apologising" to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who she said might have been hurt by her unknowingly.

Speaking at a prayer meeting held at the Motilal Nehru stadium in the Madhya Pradesh capital to pay tribute to the BJP patriarch, Bharti went down the memory lane to recall her association with Vajpayee.

"Atalji was a humorous person. I used to get angry when he used to speak humorously. I think I might have told him something which might have hurt him. I will always feel regret in my life that I couldn't say sorry to him," the Sanitation and Water Supplies Minister said.

Bharti, 59, recalled that she had first met Vajpayee when she was just eight years old in Gwalior where she had gone to deliver a religious discourse at a programme organised by late Vijaya Raje Scindia.

Vajpayee, 93, died at AIIMS hospital in Delhi on August 16 due to prolonged illness.

Paying homage to the departed leader, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan remembered him as a "stalwart politician of many qualities" and a multi-faceted personality.

"This generation would thank their luck because they could see Atal ji. Becoming like Atalji would be a true tribute to him," he said.

Leaders of various political parties like the Congress, AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) and Samajwadi Party (SP) participated in the prayer meet.