PM Modi, other dignitaries pay tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 100th birth anniversary
PTC News Desk: Prime Minister Modi paid tribute to the former Prime Minister on his birth centenary. Atal Bihari Vajpayee stands tall as a statesman and continues to inspire countless people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote today.
"Our nation will always be grateful to Atal Ji for being the architect of India's transition into the 21st century. When he took oath as PM in 1998 our nation had passed through a period of political instability. In about 9 years, we had seen 4 Lok Sabha Elections. The people of India were getting impatient and also sceptical about governments being able to deliver. It was Atal Ji who turned this tide by providing stable and effective governance. Coming from humble roots, he realised the struggles of the common citizen and the transformative power of effective governance," the Prime Minister wrote.
The Prime Minister elaborated how Mr Vajpayee agreed to merge his party -- then Jan Sangh -- with the Janata Party to challenge the Indira Gandhi government after the Emergency.
"When it comes to commitment to protecting our Constitution too, Atal Ji stands tall. He was deeply impacted by the martyrdom of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Years later, he was a pillar of the anti-Emergency movement. In the run-up to the 1977 elections after the Emergency, he agreed to merger of his own Party (Jan Sangh) into the Janata Party. I am sure it would have been a painful decision for him and the others, but safeguarding the Constitution was all that mattered to him," he wrote.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, on Wednesday also paid floral tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 100th birth anniversary at the 'Sadaiv Atal' memorial in New Delhi.
- PTC NEWS
