The entire country remembered and paid homage to the stalwart politician and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary on Friday.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to the veteran BJP leader at his memorial Sadaiv Atal here.

A prayer meeting was also held at the Samadhi of Vajpayee near Raj Ghat in New Delhi.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote, “Tributes to Atal Ji on his Punya Tithi. He is remembered by countless people for his unparalleled contribution to nation building. He devoted
his entire life towards ensuring that our fellow citizens lead a better quality of life. We will keep working to fulfill his vision for India. Paid homage to him at ‘Sadaiv Atal’ this morning, along with other distinguished dignitaries.”

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla among other prominent leaders also paid their tributes to Vajpayee on the occasion.

“Paid tributes to Shri Atalji on his ‘Punatiyhi’. The nation will remain indebted to his contributions,” the Defence Minister wrote on platform X.

A popular leader, Vajpayee was also a poet, and was a three time PM, while he was also one of
the co- founders of the largest political party, the BJP.

He was also associated with the RSS, and was also a Member of Parliament for five decades.
The veteran politician had retired from active politics back in 2009.

Popular also for his poetry, Vajpayee’s works used to leave a lasting impact on his readers,
and was highly appreciated for his creations that were quite inspiring.

It was during his tenure as PM in the year 1998, the nation carried out the nuclear tests at Pokhran, Rajasthan.

He was known for his strong outlook and fearlessness in decision making, and also the way he used to speak, where he would clearly send his message across without hesitation.

Vajpayee was one of those politicians who was also respected by political opponents and he was always open for dialogue keeping aside differences, for the ultimate benefit of the nation and
its people.

He was born on December 25, 1924, in Madhya Pradesh, and during his early life worked as an activist, and was also fond of poetry and writing.

He was a very impressive orator, and people say that he used to leave the audience spellbound
while delivering a speech, with the way he used to speak.