Under Vajpayee’s mango tree in Uttan

As the country witnessed the cremation of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a member of the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (RMP) recalled Vajpayee’s fruitful connection with Uttan, Bhayander.

“On January 6, 2003, Vajpayee had planted a mango sapling during the inauguration of a training institute of RMP in Uttan,” said Chandrakant Jadhav, a member of RMP.

Jadhav said that a few years later, as the tree started to bear fruits the institute sent three dozen mangoes to Vajpayee’s residence in Lucknow every year.

“Atalji enjoyed the mangoes after his lunch and also shared it with his staff. We received a thank you letter from him every year,” he said.

The programme in 2003 had also witnessed the presence of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani, the late Pramod Mahajan, current vice-president Venkaiah Naidu and the late Gopinath Munde, among other leaders from the party.

“The 15-year-old tree still stands tall in the premises of RMP and brings back memories of Atalji’s visit,” Jadhav said