Atal Bihari Vajpayee
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Indian Prime Minister from the Hindu nationalist BJP party, serving from 1998 to 2004. Vajpayee conducted nuclear weapons tests in 1998, making India a declared nuclear power. He launched a bus service to Pakistan and sought peace with Islamabad. The Kargil War in 1999 nearly triggered a full scale war between the nuclear armed neighbors. Vajpayee pursued economic liberalization and infrastructure projects including the Golden Quadrilateral highway system. He was a poet and orator known for his eloquence. Vajpayee was the first non Congress Prime Minister to serve a full term.
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