Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid rich tributes to former prime minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary.
Vajpayee's visionary leadership saw the country's development reach unprecedented heights, he said in a tweet. “His efforts for making a strong and prosperous India will be remembered forever," Modi said.
Born in 1924, Vajpayee was a founder-member of the Jana Sangh and then the BJP, a party that rose from the margins to rule India for the first time in the 1990s with him being its main face.
His tenure is credited with ushering in a fresh wave of liberalisation, boosting growth and infrastructure.
Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted Vajpayee "started the era of development, welfare for the poor and good governance in India through a life of politics and nation-based ideology".
Shah declared, "Atalji's duty and national service will always be a centre of inspiration for us."
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "On the birth anniversary of revered Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, former prime minister... I remember and salute him. He set new standards of development and good governance in India. Atalji followed the limits in politics. This country will always take inspiration from his ideas.”
Modi, Shah, Rajnath Singh and other BJP leaders and government ministers paid tributes to Vajpayee at his memorial.
(With inputs from PTI)