Friday 17 August 2018

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ex-PM and BJP stalwart, dies at 93; Narendra Modi calls his demise 'personal and irreplaceable'


Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India's most charismatic leaders who led the nation through several crises while holding together a tenuous coalition with his inclusive politics and superlative oratory, died in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 93.

Vajpayee, a bachelor, is survived by his adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya. He will be cremated on Friday in New Delhi.

"It was Atalji's exemplary leadership that set the foundations for prosperous and inclusive India in the 21st century," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, leading the nation in mourning the demise of the nationalist stalwart whose popularity cut across party lines.

Vajpayee's death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital where he was admitted on 11 June with a variety of ailments.

"It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at 5.05 pm," the AIIMS said in a statement.


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