Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s Ex-PM, dies at 93

Former prime minister AtalBihari Vajpayee, 93, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital on Thursday. The iconic BJP leader was admitted to the AIIMS in June and had been ailing for long. Many premier party leaders across party lines are said to have visited him since morning, before the announcement of his demise at 5.05 pm. Following the gradual deterioration of his health, he had gradually retreated from public life and remained primarily restricted to his residence. During his second term as prime minister, Vajpayee ordered nuclear tests in May 1998 in a strategic masterstroke to blunt Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions. He followed this up with peace overtures to Pakistan, riding on the first direct bus from India to Pakistan in February 1999. Various celebrities and political leaders have turned to twitter to express their grievances over India’s “tallest prime minister”. Ratan N. Tata tweeted “All of us who knew Mr. AtalBihari Vajpayee are saddened to hear of his passing away. He was a great leader with a great sense of compassion and humor. He will be remembered fondly by a vast number of us.” Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia also took to twitter to announce the closing of all institutions to honour Mr. Vajpayee. He tweeted, “All Delhi govt offices, schools and other institutions shall remain closed tomorrow, as mark of respect for our dear departed ShAtalji.” Other states like Haryana, Punjab, UP, MP, Assam, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu followed and declared a holiday. AtalBihari Vajpayee was sworn in as the tenth prime minister of India after the 1996 General Elections, but since the NDA could not prove majority in the floor of the house he resigned after 13 days. In 1998, he was again sworn in as the prime minister and held the post till 2004. He was conferred with Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian honour, in 2014.