Murli Manohar Joshi calls Kalyan Singh's demise 'personal loss', says we faced batons and bullets together

New Delhi [India], August 22 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi expressed his condolences on the demise of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and recalled his experiences with him.

Joshi lauded the political journey of the deceased leader and said that he was not just a leader of a caste, but a leader for the nation.

Speaking to ANI, Joshi said, "Kalyan Singh wasn't the leader of a caste. He felt pain for farmers, oppressed and backward but he wasn't their leader alone. He was the nation's leader...It's a personal loss. We faced batons and bullets together. It will be tough to make up for the loss."

"His death has caused personal loss to me. He was among those who were our age. Together we travelled a lot to places, got beaten up by sticks while protesting for a cause, took bullets for the people of this country, etc. So, the relationship we had was very strong. He was with me, is with me, and will stay with me forever in my heart. Such persons like Singh ji are very few and their absence will be felt for a long time. I think it will be difficult to fill the void now," he said.

Recalling his experience with the former UP chief minister, Joshi said, "My acquaintance with Kalyan Singh ji is from 1962. I know him since he was a teacher at a college in Aligarh. He used to sing very good songs, Kalyan Singh ji had a very melodious voice. He was a caretaker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh."

"Once, while he was addressing students in the school, I heard his speech. He was a very good orator. Many people at that time were of the opinion that he should go beyond this small place and talk to the people of both Jana Sangh and Sangh (RSS). After doing this, late senior BJP leader Nanaji Deshmukh ji then had said that now he should be brought to and given a 'good place' in the politics of the state", he added.

Applauding Kalyan Singh's tenure as the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Joshi said, "The most important tenure of Kalyan Singh ji was the time when the Ram Mandir movement was going on. I was the President of the party at that time and he was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and when he announced that 'no matter what happens, I will not shoot at Kar Sevaks', it raised his stature and people got the idea that he is a man of principles."

"At that time, he had also made it clear that he will not allow bloodshed in the movement of this temple under any circumstances. Back then, this announcement was a big deal. Many times people said (Singh) that he was a politician of a particular stream or supported a particular community. I do not believe that. Kalyan Singh ji was not a leader of any caste but a leader of the nation," Joshi said.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away on August 21 at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow, due to sepsis and multi-organ failure at the age of 89. (ANI)