President Ram Nath Kovind today described Atal Bihari Vajpayee's demise a personal loss for him and said it was the former prime minister's stature and dignity that attracted him to public life by giving up his legal profession.

Conveying his condolences on the passing away of Vajpayee, the president in his letter to the former prime minister's adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya said that working with him was an unforgettable experience. "Atalji's death is of course a personal loss for you and others at home. It is also a personal loss for me. It was his stature and dignity that attracted me to public life, as I gave up the legal profession to become his colleague," he said in the letter.