Murli Manohar Joshi praises AB Vajpayee; 'Brought people of many faiths together'

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Saturday said that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee brought people of different faiths together on his birth anniversary. Joshi, who was also a member of his cabinet, remarked, "Atal Ji united 22-23 political parties to make India a nuclear power. He provided India's politics with a new direction by bringing together 22 parties, people of many faiths, and erasing all divides." Vajpayee, he added, 'believed in democratic ideas'. 

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral homage at the 'Sadaiv Atal' Samadhi in the national capital on Saturday. Taking to his Twitter handle, PM Modi paid tribute with a heartfelt message to the visionary leader. "Tributes to respected Atal ji on his birth anniversary," PM Modi wrote in Hindi. "Remembering Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We are inspired by his rich service to the nation. He devoted his life towards making India strong and developed. His development initiatives positively impacted millions of Indians," he added.

On the occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, and others paid floral homage at 'Sadaiv Atal.' The birthday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee is commemorated as 'Good Governance Day.'

More about the former Prime Minister 

Vajpayee was the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to become Prime Minister of India, leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration from 1998 to 2004. He was Prime Minister three times, first for a brief period in 1996, then for two terms between 1998 and 2004. Vajpayee was one of India's most renowned politicians and a founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He died on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following a protracted illness. He was 93 years old when he died. He was conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 2015. In 1994, he received the Pt Govind Ballabh Pant Award for Best Parliamentarian. India conducted the Pokhran-II nuclear tests during his time as Prime Minister. He also aimed to improve relations with Pakistan on a diplomatic level.

With inputs from ANI

Image: ANI/PTI