Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a statesman who endeared himself to people across the political spectrum, was today conferred with Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award at a special function at his residence.
In a rare departure from protocol, President Pranab Mukherjee, himself a veteran Parliamentarian, drove to Vajpayee's residence at Krishna Menon marg in Lutyens' Delhi to confer the honour at a simple ceremony as he is ailing and has been out of public life for about eight years.
The brief event took place in the presence select dignitaries including Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and close family members that included his foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya and foster daughter Namita.
The citation read out at the occasion described Vajpayee as a statesman known for a subtle sharpness that engages, attracts and brings many together. In his six decade long political career, five of which in Parliament, Vajpayee was elected to Lok Sabha 10 times and twice to Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004, Vajpayee has faded from public life due to age-related illness. The event was kept out of media glare.
Considered the moderate face of BJP, he has been credited with taking bold initiatives for forging good ties with Pakistan which included historic bus journey to Lahore in 1999 when he signed the landmark Lahore Declaration with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with both sides pledging to push for peace and security.
After the presentation of award, a tea was hosted for a select group of leaders who were invited for the function that included former President A P J Abdul Kalam, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP leader L K Advani, Arun Jaitley, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, and Chief Ministers Prakash Singh Badal (Punjab), Mufti Mohammed Sayeed (Jammu and Kashmir), N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan).
The Prime Minister said, "Atalji's life was dedicated to the nation, he lived and thought for the nation for every second. In India there are crores of workers like me in whose life Vajpayee ji is an inspiration.
"The upcoming generations will continue to be inspired by him. I will pray to God for this only that Bharat Ratna Awardee Vajpayee ji's life continues to inspire and guide us forever," he said after the function.
Modi also thanked the President for his gesture to honour Vajpayee at his residence saying "I express my gratitude to the President who himself came here and personally bestowed upon him, the Bharat Ratna award."
"It is a historic day for crores of Indians today when Atal Bihari Vajpayee is being given Bharat Ratna award," he later tweeted.
