Pramod Mahajan was the person who, within a month of Vajpayee becoming the PM, had declared to the media that Vajpayee was already more popular than Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Indira and Rajiv etc. Leaving aside the truth or lack of it in that declaration, it shows Pramod Mahajan`s total personal loyalty to Vajpayee. I had expected similar, reciprocal, warm wishes and words for Mahajan from Vajpayee and for God`s mercy for a speedy recovery of Pramod Mahajan. Unfortunately, Vajpayee did not talk down-to-earth, simple words carrying a true ring of personal anxiety and love for Pramod Mahajan, but was pompous and talked of his popularity amongst the "youth cutting across party lines" ! I had also expected that he would be pained to see an all round deterioration of our deep, family bonds, leading to such shocking incidents even in families held in high esteem by the whole country. Although he champions the cause of cultural nationalism, he was not moved deeply enough and I felt dismayed.
