Mamata remembers kind-hearted ex-PM

New Delhi: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's passing away a "tremendous loss" to the nation.

"Very very saddened that the great statesman and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji is no more with us.

"He is a different kind of a man. Very kind hearted, he used to respect us a lot. His style of working was also very different. We've had a relation above party lines with Atal Ji. We had an opportunity to work with him in the government. Atal ji is an exceptional gentleman, a statesmanlike a figure," Banerjee said while leaving for Delhi at the Kolkata airport.

In 2000, when Banerjee held the railway ministry, the former prime minister, Vajpayee visited Banerjee's mother Gayatri Devi at her Kalighat residence. Some recall that Vajpayee took blessings of Gayatri Devi by touching her feet, in return she offered him a Bengali sweet made of coconut flakes – 'naru'.

Meanwhile, the Bengal CM cut short her Thursday's commitments and cancelled her prior engagements and left for Delhi to visit Vajpayee. She will return to Kolkata on Friday.