A prayer meeting was held at Sadaiv Atal, the memorial of Atal Bihari Vajpayee today in New Delhi, to mark the first death anniversary of the former Prime Minister of India. Sadaiv Atal, the memorial for the iconic leader, was unveiled on his 94th birth anniversary, marked as ‘Good Governance Day’, last December. The central samadhi platform comprises nine square black polished granite stone blocks, capped with a ‘diya’ in the centre.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and members of Vajpayee’s family were amongst those who paid tribute to the BJP leader with the playing of hymns and devotional music.
राष्ट्रपति कोविन्द ने भारत के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री, श्री अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी की प्रथम पुण्यतिथि पर नई दिल्ली में अटल जी की समाधि – ‘सदैव अटल’ पर उन्हें श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित की। pic.twitter.com/nzeVfecQNf
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 16, 2019
Remembering Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Modi took to his official social media handle, writing, “His thoughts and words live on. We will always cherish his contribution to India’s development.
Paid tributes to Atal Ji at Sadaiv Atal this morning.”
Remembering Atal Ji on his Punya Tithi. His thoughts and words live on. We will always cherish his contribution to India’s development.
Paid tributes to Atal Ji at Sadaiv Atal this morning. pic.twitter.com/RRZFnlcfTT
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2019
Union Home Minister and National President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Shah also paid tribute to the former Prime Minister by calling him a man of ideology, the founder of good governance who brought an era of development, giving rise to politics based on values and ideals.
अटल एक व्यक्ति नहीं…विचार है
अटल एक जीवन नहीं…संस्कार हैमूल्यों और आदर्श आधारित अपनी राजनीति से भारत में विकास और सुशासन के युग की शुरुआत करने वाले जन-जन के प्रिय भारत रत्न आदरणीय अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी की पुण्यतिथि पर उन्हें कोटि-कोटि वंदन। pic.twitter.com/to330NuPIv
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 16, 2019
पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री और एक जनप्रिय नेता आदरणीय अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी की प्रथम पुण्यतिथि पर ‘सदैव अटल' स्मारक जाकर उनको श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित की। pic.twitter.com/lDafYmWycX
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 16, 2019
Along with it, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee tweeted a famous quote of Vajpayee about his Kashmir policy in a tribute on his first death anniversary. She wrote, “Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, former Prime Minister, on his first death anniversary. Let us recall his words:
“The gun can solve no problems. Issues can be guided by the three principles of insaniyat, jamhooriyat and kashmiriyat.”
Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, former Prime Minister, on his first death anniversary. Let us recall his words:
“The gun can solve no problems. Issues can be guided by the three principles of insaniyat, jamhooriyat and kashmiriyat.”
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) August 16, 2019
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the tenth Prime Minister of India who led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1998 to 2004 and was the first ever person from the BJP to have become the country’s Prime Minister. Vajpayee took his last breath on 16 August, 2018 at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi. The government had conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, on him in 2015.
