Veteran Parliamentarian and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, founder member of the Bharatiya Janata Party who is held in high esteem across the political spectrum, was today conferred with Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, by President Pranab Mukherjee.
In a departure from protocol, Mukherjee drove to Vajpayee’s residence at Krishna Memon marg in Lutyens’ Delhi and presented to the ailing BJP leader the prestigious award, the country’s highest civilian honour.
“Atal ji gave his life to Bharat Bhakti. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna.
Atal ji is an inspiration for so many Indians like me. We got an opportunity to confer Bharat Ratna on Atal ji who dedicated his life to nation,son of mother India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
“I thank the President for personally conferring the Bharat Ratna to Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” he said.
The event, which was attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with some close family members, was kept away from the media glare.
