Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at AIIMS this evening at 5.05 pm bringing to an end a glorious political innings. He was 93.
AIIMS announced the demise of the BJP veteran saying, “It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of former PM of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee at 5.05 pm on August 16.”
The government has announced 7-day national mourning following demise of Vajpayee. The national flag will be flown at half mast for seven days across India, it said, adding that a state funeral to be accorded to Vajpayee.
Atal, the poet
Apart from his successful political career, Atal Bihari Vajpayee also emerged as a miraculous poet, an influencing and a resonating orator and an insatiable reader.
In order to depict the critical situation in pre-independence era, he took the help of his words and inked them down in the form of poems in Hindi which are still admired by the entire nation.
He started to create poems from the time when he was jailed during Emergency. He wrote, ‘Kaidi Kaviraj Ki Kundalian’ and ‘Amar Aag Hai’ published in 1994.
PM Modi on Twitter
Atal Ji's passing away is a personal and irreplaceable loss for me. I have countless fond memories with him. He was an inspiration to Karyakartas like me. I will particularly remember his sharp intellect and outstanding wit.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2018