Narasimha Rao left mixed legacy: Hamid Ansari

Vice President Hamid Ansari said Monday that former PM PV Narasimha Rao left a mixed legacy. “The good that Narasimha Rao did to the country lives after him and has changed the very surrounding in which we live and work. The harm too has lived on,” he said. He was speaking at the launch of Half Lion, How P V Narasimha Rao Transformed India, authored by Vinay Sitapati.

Among the panelists were former union minister K Natwar Singh, senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, Carnegie India Director C Rajamohan and Centre for Policy Research president Pratap Bhanu Mehta. While the panelists agreed that Rao gave a definitive shape to economic and foreign policies, they were divided on his role on the Babri Masjid demolition.

“President Pranab Mukherjee has called the demolition an act of absolute perfidy which should make all Indians hang their heads in shame,” said Ansari, The panel also discussed what Prime Minister Narendra Modi could learn from Rao. Gupta said Modi could learn humility, big-heartedness and ability to pick talent from across the board.