JAIPUR: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed the test of democracy several times, said the author of the book Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sagarika Ghose, during a session at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Friday.
Terming him a middle-compound character, she said, "He failed the test of democracy during the Bhiwandi riots in 1970 when said ‘ab Hindu maar nahi khayaga’ (Now Hindus will not be beaten), failed it in 1992 while making an inflammatory speech in Ayodhya, failed it in Gujarat (riots in 2002). He was a weak man at the end of the day. He could see where he was wrong and was ashamed about it, but couldn’t do anything about it. Driven by ambition."