Thursday, August 25 2005 15:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Long projected as a successor to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP President L K Advani today publicly admitted he suffered from "a complex" for a long time due to oratorial skills of the former Prime Minister.

"There was a complex in me when I started working with him (Vajpayee) in 1951 and listened to his oration," Advani said addressing a function to release a compilation of speeches made in the Madhya Pradesh Assembby by former state Chief Minister Kailash Joshi.

"I have not seen such an orator," he said adding while in Hindi Vajpayee and Prakash Veer Shastri were known for their oratorial skills, in English, S P Mukherjee and Hiren Mukherjeee took the cake. "As a journalist, I can write a little bit. But there was a complex in me for a long time," he said.

In a lighter vein, Vajpayee, in his address, said "these days Advani has also started giving Kathas (long speeches). Earlier, he was reluctant. What you require (to acquire oratorial skills) is dedication. The thoughts are there but what is needed is expression".