National flag to fly half-mast after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away on Thursday evening following a prolonged illness. He breathed his last at 5:05 pm at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He was 93. Taking a note from the extremely sad news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and expressed his grief over the loss of the veteran BJP leader and called it as the 'end of the era'. PM wrote, "India grieves the demise of our beloved Atal Ji.

His passing away marks the end of an era. He lived for the nation and served it assiduously for decades. My thoughts are with his family, BJP Karyakartas and millions of admirers in this hour of sadness. Om Shanti."