Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s final journey begins from BJP HQ to Smriti Sthal
NEW DELHI: King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk arrived in Delhi to attend the funeral of the former PM. Many leaders including the CM of UP and governor, CM of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, CM of Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, Veteran BJP leader LK Advani and his daughter Prathibha Advani had prayed their last respects to Vajpayee.
“He wanted India to be everybody’s. He also wanted to strike up a friendship with Pakistan. Unfortunately he couldn’t see that. I hope that the current government and Pakistan’s Imran Khan government fulfill his dream that will be a true tribute to him,” said Farooq Abdullah.
Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief, and his family arrived at the BJP headquarters this afternoon. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, the Minister of foreign affairs of Nepal, arrived in Delhi. The national flag flies at half mast at the home ministry in New Delhi.
“I met him once in 2006. He was a very good orator. The void of his absence can never be filed by anyone in Indian politics, he has been a role model for everyone and inspired many through his poetry, speeches andoratorship,” said Madhur Bhandarkar, a filmmaker.
Bangladesh foreign minister said, “We remember him for his contribution to Bangladesh Liberation War & strong support to people of Bangladesh. He had great liking for Bengali music. I had the privilege of serving in Delhi as career diplomat when he became Foreign Minister.”
“He was an enormously important person who we have great respect for and it’s a great loss for India. I wanted to pay my respects to a man of that stature,” said Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India.
The last rites of former PM will take place at 4pm today at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi.