New Delhi: Confident of not giving in to the demand of dissidents that he step down, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday said former prime minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee's poem ‘Na Dainayam, na palayanam’ had given him strength not to run away from a contest.
"I met Vajpayee yesterday and the meeting reminded me of his poem, Na Dainayam, na palayanam," Yeddyurappa told reporters here after his meeting with central BJP leaders.
"I don't know the exact meaning as it is in Sanskrit," he added.
The poem, which was later published in booklet form in 2006, eulogises those who lay down their life fighting for a cause.
"To die while working for one's principles and beliefs is always commendable. But those who get an opportunity to sacrifice themselves in the battlefield are truly blessed. Not everybody gets the privilege to die a martyr," Vajpayee says in his poem.
Yeddyurappa has been seeking peace and strength ever since the crisis broke out. Other than meeting Vajpayee, he visited Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi Rajghat yesterday. He also offered prayers at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Jammu today.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, November 07, 2009, 22:40