Vajpayee a democrat above all, says Manmohan Singh

Sadaiv Atal, a memorial of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was dedicated to the nation on his 94th birth anniversary on Tuesday whereas Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers pledged to install the statues of the former premier.

Vajpayee died on August 16 this year after a prolonged illness. He was cremated with full state honours near the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where his memorial has been built.

While former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh participated in a prayer meeting of Vajpayee at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where he was received by BJP president Amit Shah, the Congress party also remembered Vajpayee as “a man who believed in the power of democracy above all.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam on the birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Built at an estimated cost of over ₹5,000 crore, the bridge is expected to help over five million people living in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and significantly enhance India's defence capability by ensuring faster movement of troops and supplies to the eastern border with China.

The foundation stone for the bridge was laid by former prime minister HD Devegowda in 1997. The construction works started only in 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

Earlier, on Monday PM Modi had released a Rs 100 commemorative coin in the memory of the former premier.

Several Twitter users have been paying tributes to the late Prime Minister, remembering him as a statesman and a humanitarian poet.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that a statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be erected in Patna and work on it has already started.

Speaking at a public event in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Tuesday that a 25 feet high statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed in the Lok Bhawan in the state’s capital.

Governor Ram Naik and the Chief Minister led the state in paying tributes to Vajpayee. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Vidhan Sabha Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit were also present.