President goes to Atal home with Bharat Ratna

Watch: Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s best speeches in Parliament

Vajpayee, the first non-Congress prime minister to serve full five years in office, held the post from 1998 to 2004. In 1996, he had held the post for 13 days. Within two weeks of assuming office for a second time, Vajpayee had ordered nuclear tests at Pokhran.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley interacts with the media outside Vajpayee’s residence in New Delhi on Friday. (Source: Ravi Kanojia)

He is also credited with taking bold initiatives, notable among them being the historic bus journey to Lahore in 1999 when he signed the landmark Lahore Declaration with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with both sides pledging to push for peace and security.

ALSO SEE: Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Rare images from Express archives

Among those present at the ceremony were PM Narendra Modi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, cabinet ministers and senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who had worked closely with Vajpayee during his stint as prime minister. Former PM Manmohan Singh was also present, though Congress president Sonia Gandhi gave it a miss amid reports that she was not invited. Congress spokesperson Rita Bahuguna Joshi said she was not aware of the issue.

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, his Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan counterparts Chandrababu Naidu and Vasundhara Raje, and Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal also attended the function, along with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

“Our family will gather in New Delhi and congratulate him on the big honour,” Vajpayee’s niece Mala Tiwari said in Indore.

Another niece Sandhya Shukla said, “I don’t have words to express my joy over Atalji getting Bharat Ratna. I wanted to make it to the award ceremony to be a witness to the glorious moment, but I could not travel to New Delhi as my mother-in-law is unwell.”

The award consists of a bronze leaf and a wearable decoration of smaller size.

Twitterati reactions:

It is a historic day for crores of Indians today when Atal Bihari Vajpayee is being given Bharat Ratna award

— Narendra Modi, PM

My heartfelt congratulations to Vajpayee Sahib & his family on the day he receives the Bharat Ratna. It was an honour to serve under him

— Omar Abdullah, NC leader

Heartiest congratulations to our revered mentor & beloved Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji for being conferred with ‘Bharat Ratna’ today

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh CM

Happy that Atal ji is being conferred Bharat Ratna today. A truly great statesman who richly deserves honor. I wish him well

— Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM 

Honor to the rare jewel of India, @RashtrapatiBhvn conferred Atal ji with Bharat Ratna

Proud moment for every Indian

— Amit Shah, BJP chief

Atal ji being conferred the Bharat Ratna! Another luminary to our Nation’s highest honour list. His contribution to this country is immense

— Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena leader

Quotes and messages:

Your broad and large-hearted vision, your patriotism and eloquent oratory have always embraced the entire political spectrum and all sections of our society

— Sonia Gandhi, Congress president, in a letter to Vajpayee

This a proud moment for the country and all of us. He is a stalwart of the country. He is a leader par excellence who has worked tirelessly in the interest of the nation

— Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister

Bharat Ratna to Atalji has given me personal happiness

— Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM

A veteran leader who enjoyed goodwill of all parties

— Sharad Yadav, JD(U) leader

We congratulate him with great honour on receiving the Bharat Ratna

— Digvijaya Singh, Congress leader