NEW DELHI : President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour, on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence this evening.
Keeping aside protocol, the President visited the house of Mr Vajpayee to confer the Bharat Ratna on him. Present at the ceremony at his official Krishna Menon Marg bungalow, were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some Cabinet ministers and hosts of senior BJP leaders. The decision to confer Bharat Ratna on Mr Vajpayee and Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya was announced on December 24 last year, a day before the 90th birthday of the grand old man of Indian politics.
Bharat Ratna for Mahamana Malviya would be received by the family members of the acclaimed educationist on March 30 at a ceremony to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr Vajpayee, who was elected to the Lok Sabha for 10 terms beginning from 1957 till 2009, thrice headed the NDA government. Right from taking a bold step for testing the nuclear bomb to undertaking Lahore bus journey aimed at forging peace between the two nuclear neighbours, Mr Vajpayee is known for his statesman like decisions. (AGENCIES)
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