Vajpayee Death Anniversary: India lost former Prime Minister and veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee 2 years ago on 16th August. To commemorate the former prime minister’s “outstanding service” to the nation President Ram Nath Kovind will virtually unveil the portrait of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Azad Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday.

ICCR in a tweet said that the President will unveil the portrait in the presence of Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and ICCR president Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at 11 am on Sunday.


Born on December 25, 1924, in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, Vajpayee was the first-ever person from the BJP to become the Prime Minister. He served as Prime Minister thrice -- briefly in 1996, from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full five-year term between 1999 and 2004.

Apart from politics, Vajpayee was a prominent writer, penning a number of poems. After resigning as the Prime Minister in 2004, the BJP stalwart retired from active politics owing to his feeble health.

The veteran BJP leader passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi after a prolonged illness.