Vajpayee was truly dedicated politician: Dalai Lama

Dharamsala, Aug 17 : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said that former Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee was a truly dedicated politician and in his death India had lost an eminent national leader.

He expressed his sentiments in a condolence to Vajpayee's foster daughter Namita Bhattacharya.

"I feel privileged to have known him and am honoured to have counted him as a friend," he wrote.

"We met regularly during the course of his career and I continued to visit him at home after he retired.

"Shri Vajpayee was a truly dedicated politician. With his passing away, India has lost an eminent national leader. His eloquent support of the Tibetan people began in the late 1950s. Since then, he regularly took Indian governments to task in Parliament, prompting them to take a stronger stand on Tibet."

The spiritual leader concluded his tribute to the Indian statesman by offering condolences to his relatives, friends and colleagues.