India bids farewell to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

India’s top leadership, foreign dignitaries and the common man mourned the death of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and bid an emotional farewell to the former prime minister who was one of the most-loved leaders in decades and had acceptability across a diverse ideological spectrum.

Chief ministers, opposition leaders, chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, governors and a host of other dignitaries attended the funeral of Vajpayee at Rastriya Smriti Sthal, a picturesque cremation site at the heart of the capital.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, BJP president Amit Shah, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, veteran politician L K Advani, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Army chief General Bipin Rawat, Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba laid wreaths.

Other attendees of the funeral included Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union ministers Harsh Vardhan, Ram Vilas Paswan, Shripad Naik and Piyush Goyal. Chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath, Nitish Kumar, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Vijay Rupani also attended the funeral.

Foreign dignitaries such as Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Afghan politician Hamid Karzai and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali also paid last respects to the leader.

Other political leaders at the funeral were Congress president Rahul Gandhi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and Congress leader Raj Babbar.

Foster daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya lit the pyre as cries of “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” reverberated through the cremation site.

Scores of people gathered at the Sthal to pay their respects to the tall leader, who was cremated with full state honours. The country bid farewell to its political icon amid a light drizzle.

Last march

A sea of people today joined the funeral procession of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi walking behind the gun carriage carrying the mortal remains.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and other leaders and supporters seen walking behind the mortal remains of Former PM A B Vajpayee at the BJP Headquarters on August 17 in New Delhi.

BJP chief Amit Shah, several union ministers and chief ministers of several states including Vijay Rupani, Shivraj Chouhan, Yogi Adityanath and Devendra Fadnavis were among those who walked sombrely behind the carriage as it slowly made its way to the Rashtriya Smirti Sthal where the last rites would be performed.

Amid sultry weather conditions, thousands of people walked along the over seven km-long route with some showering petals at the carriage. Heavy security was deployed along the route of the procession. The crowd was so massive that the people spilled over barricades and jostled to get a glimpse of the former prime minister.

During the procession, people chanted slogans like “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” as Vajpayee’s cortege made its way from the BJP headquarters to the cremation ground.

Vajpayee, 93, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here last evening after prolonged illness.

A last glimpse

Earlier, the young and old, men and women, some with children, collected outside the gates of the BJP headquarters, anxious for a last glimpse of the late leader before the state funeral at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on the banks of the Yamuna. Some clambered on a neem tree outside the BJP headquarters for a better look, desperate to be part of the proceedings but unable to get inside. Two big LED screens were placed outside the office.

Inside, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and a host of ministers and party workers paid their last respects to the late leader, mourned by them and the opposition as one of India’s tallest leaders.

Supporters wait outside BJP headquarters to paying homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in New Delhi. Photo: Kamal Narang

The air was solemn as Vajpayee’s body, draped in the tricolour, was placed on a platform draped in white flowers. Hundreds of people filed past the body in silence, with a large portrait of a smiling Vajpayee - a BJP flag on either side - in the backdrop. The decorated gun carriage carrying his mortal remains left the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg around 2 PM.

Opposition leaders like CPI’s D Raja and CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury were among those who visited the BJP headquarters to pay their respects.

'Massive turnout'

Earlier in the morning, hundreds of people chanted “Atal Bihari Amar Rahe” as Vajpayee’s cortege made its way from his home through the city to reach the BJP office. Mourners walked and ran beside the carriage, also chanting slogans like ‘Jab tak sooraj chand rahega Atal ji ka naam rahega”, punctuated by patriotic cheers of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’

A decorated gun carriage carrying his mortal remains had left his home on Krishna Menon Marg around 10 AM and reached the party’s headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, about five kilometres away, around 11 AM.

People walk along the convoy carrying the mortal remains of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as it passes through the ITO towards the BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, in New Delhi on Friday.

In the crowd were Ganeshan, 38, and Chennaiah Nadesan, 45, who had flown in from Tamil Nadu. “This massive turnout of people who have come here to pay their respects to Atalji shows that he resided in the hearts of people. Not only has India has lost a leader, a son, the world has lost a statesman,” BJP leader Anurag Thakur told reporters.

The funeral procession passed through Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Delhi Gate, Netaji Subhash Marg, Nishadraj Marg and Shanti van before reaching Smriti Sthal. Police has made elaborate security arrangements for the funeral procession, officials said.

Seen as a moderate face of BJP, Vajpayee first became Prime Minister in 1996, leading a shaky coalition whose members were suspicious of the BJP’s right-wing politics. It lasted for 13 days and collapsed after losing a vote of no-confidence. His second stint as prime minister was in 1998 when the National Democratic Alliance again came to power but that lasted for just 13 months. Finally, the NDA with Vajpayee as PM returned to power in 1999 and was voted out in 2004.

In the morning, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat paid homage to the former prime minister at his official residence.

In view of the funeral procession, several roads in the national capital have been closed for the public later in the day. Some roads closed from 8 AM include Krishna Menon Marg, Sunehri Bagh Road, Tughlak Road, Akbar Road, Tees January Marg, Man Singh Road, Bhagwan Dass Road, Shahjahan Road and Sikandara Road.

DDU Marg, IP Marg, BSZ Marg (from Tilak Bridge to Delhi Gate), JLN Marg (from Rajghat to Delhi Gate) will also be closed, the traffic police said. Commuters have been advised to use Aurobindo Marg, Safdarjung Road, Mother Teresa Crescent, Park Street, Mandir Marg to travel between north and south Delhi. Those travelling between east and west Delhi can use Vikas Marg, Shahdara Bridge and Wazirabad Bridge to reach Ring Road.

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