Bangalore: Drawing the parallel of "Thatcherism", Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (Mar 13, 2004) strongly defended projection of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying he was identified with the "nation first idea" of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Asserting that Vajpayee had been the "tallest leader" since the Jan Sangh days and for the BJP, he said, "In India, communicating an idea that this is a nation first party is not as easy as communicating a personality like Vajpayee who is identified with the idea of nation first.

"...Therefore, we have no hesitation and we do not become apologetic if anybody puts a question of this kind...what is this what are you doing," Advani, who was in Bangalore as part of his "Bharat Uday" yatra Karnataka leg, told reporters.

Advani was asked if BJP was not becoming a "Vajpayee centric party" by promoting Vajpayee as a brand and if this went well with a party, which over the years had cultivated the image of being an ideologically passionate party.

Advani said even way back in 1969, when Vajpayee was projected as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the erstwhile Jan Sangh was criticised as to how a traditional party could do it.

"The problem is of communicating with masses," he said, noting that even in a country like Britain, when the labour party was sought to be replaced by the Conservatives, the latter projected former British premier Margaret Thatcher for implementing their liberalisation and privatisation plan.

"It was called Thatcherism. It was not called privatisation because communicating an idea takes effort. Even in educated countries like Britain, communicating a personality is quite easier."