When Vajpayee got Nehru's portrait restored in South Block

A portrait of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had once gone missing from the South Block in the late 70s, but it was restored following the intervention of the then foreign minister, Atal Bihari Vaypayee.

Vajpayee had shared this anecdote in a speech in Parliament and also praised Nehru for his ability to take criticism from others.

"Friends in Congress may not believe this, but a portrait of Nehru would hang in South Block. I would see it whenever I passed by," he had said in his speech.

Vajpayee also said that there used to be sparring with Nehruji in Parliament.

"At that time, I was new, and would sit back in the House. Sometime to get an opportunity to speak, I also would have to stage a walk out," he had recalled.

"Then I made a place for myself, and moved ahead. And, when I became the foreign minister, I saw that the portrait was missing from the gallery," he said.

Vajpayee, who died at the AIIMS today after prolonged illness, was the foreign minister from March 1977 to July 1979 in the Morarji Desai government.

"I then asked where did it (portrait) go? I got no reply. That portrait was restored," Vajpayee had said, drawing applause in the House.

In his speech, Vajpayee then asked if people respected such sentiments. "Should such sentiments germinate? (Kya is bhavna ki kadra hai? Kya is desh mey ye bhavna panpe?)"