Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday paid homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary, recalling his lifelong commitment to building a strong and prosperous nation.
In a message on X, Singh wrote, “I pay homage to Atalji on his punyatithi. He worked all his life with the resolve of building a strong and prosperous India. The nation will always remember his tremendous contribution.”
Union Ministers JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju, and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, along with JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, also paid their respects at ‘Sadaiv Atal,’ Vajpayee’s memorial in New Delhi.
Born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Vajpayee was a towering political figure and the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for decades. He made history as the first non-Congress Prime Minister to serve a full term in office.
Vajpayee held the office of Prime Minister three times — briefly in 1996, and later from 1998 to 2004. Earlier, he served as India’s External Affairs Minister in Morarji Desai’s cabinet between 1977 and 1979, earning recognition for his statesmanship and oratory.
He passed away on August 16, 2018, at AIIMS, New Delhi, leaving behind a legacy of inclusive politics, economic reforms, and nuclear strength.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Rajnath Singh praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 79th Independence Day address as “excellent and inspiring,” noting that it laid out a roadmap for national progress, security, and the vision of achieving a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
