Atal Bihari Vajpayee had served as India’s PM for a brief period in 1996, between 1998 and 1999, and then for a full term between 1999 and 2004.
On the fourth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s passing, President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and union ministers paid the former prime minister a heartfelt tribute on Tuesday in Delhi. India’s prime minister for three terms was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, known as “a man of the masses.”
At AB Vajpayee’s memorial, Sadaiv Atal, in the nation’s capital, the leaders could be seen laying flower tributes. Along with PM Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah paid respects to the late BJP leader and former prime minister. Vajpayee passed away in 2018 following a period of sickness. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also paid his respects at the memorial in the morning.
According to his biography on the official website dedicated to India’s prime ministers, the BJP veteran’s “first brush with nationalist politics was in his undergraduate days, when he joined the Quit India Movement of 1942, which expedited the end of British colonial authority.” It recalls the leader as “an enthusiastic defender of women’s empowerment and social equality,” saying that “over the decades, he developed as a leader who commanded respect for his liberal worldview and dedication to democratic ideals.”
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was one of many who recalled Vajpayee. ‘Bharat Ratna’ renowned Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, popular mass leader, ardent nationalist, powerful speaker, and inspiration of countless workers, is honoured on the occasion of his passing.’ Your unadulterated involvement in politics and the public sphere will forever serve as the gold standard for democracy, he tweeted.
In 2015, Vajpayee was also conferred the Bharat Ratna – India’s top civilian honour. He was also an eloquent speaker and prolific writer. He is also remembered for his poems – most of which he authored in Hindi Vajpayee breathed his last on August 16, 2018, after being hospitalized in June following a kidney infection.
