Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his memorial 'Sadaiv Atal' in Delhi on his 100th birth anniversary. Along with him, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, BJP ally and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other MPs and senior leaders were present on the occasion.
On the 100th birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Modi highlighted Vajpayee's legacy highlighting the celebration of Good Governance Day. In a video message, he said: "Today, in honour of Atal Jayanti, is celebrated as 'Good Governance Day.' Good governance means when the Centre doesn't have a feeling of power but of service."
PM Modi also penned an article hailing his policies and positive politics. "The Vajpayee Government not only boosted economic growth but also brought distant regions closer, fostering unity and integration," he said in the article.
'Vajpayee A Stickler For Rules'
PM Modi mentioned that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was "not one to cling on to power through opportunistic means". "He preferred to resign in 1996 instead of following the path of horse-trading and dirty politics. In 1999, his Government was defeated by 1 vote. A lot of people told him to challenge the immoral politics happening then but he preferred to go by the rules," PM Modi said.
'Vajpayee Committed To Constitution'
PM Modi said Atal Vajpayee stood as a protector of the Constitution and its ideals. "He was a pillar of the anti-Emergency movement. In the run-up to the 1977 elections after the Emergency, he agreed to merge his own party [Jan Sangh] into the Janata Party. I am sure it would have been a painful decision but for him, and the others but safeguarding the Constitution was all that mattered," PM Modi said.