Bengal Guv & CM pay tribute to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary
Kolkata/UNI: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday paid tribute to the legendary son of the soil Bharat Ratna former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary.
Taking to his Twitter handle, Mr Dhankar said, “A tribute to the legendary son of the soil, who all his life made nation proud, on his birth anniversary that is also Good Governance Day.”
“Greetings on Good Governance Day that is annually on December 25th, the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This surely wd foster awareness among people of accountability in governance and lead to ease of living. Transparency and accountability are its pivots,” he said.
“While eulogising the sublime qualities of Vajpayeeji I reflect on the prophetic observations about him by Pt Nehru, our first Prime Minister,” Mr Dhankar said.
Greetings on Good Governance Day that is annually on December 25th, the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This surely wd foster awareness among people of accountability in governance and lead to ease of living. Transparency and accountability are its pivots.
— Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 25, 2019
The chief minister in a Tweet described him as a statesman who rose above partisan politics for the country’s good.
“Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji on his birth anniversary. He was a statesman who rose above partisan politics for the country’s good. We miss him a lot, " she added.
Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji on his birth anniversary. He was a statesman who rose above partisan politics for the country’s good. We miss him a lot
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 25, 2019
Born on this day in 25 in 1924, Vajpayee, served three terms as the Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally, for a full term from 1999 to 2004.
A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he was the first Indian prime minister who was not a member of the Indian National Congress party to have served a full five-year term in office.
He was a member of the Indian Parliament for over five decades, having been elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, ten times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house.
Vajpayee served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow until 2009 when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. Vajpayee was among the founding members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), of which he was the president from 1968 to 1972.
During his tenure as prime minister, India carried out the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.
Vajpayee sought to improve diplomatic relations with Pakistan, travelling to Lahore by bus to meet with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. After the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan, he sought to restore relations through engaging with President Pervez Musharraf, inviting him to India for a summit at Agra.
He was conferred India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2015 by the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee .
The Narendra Modi government declared in 2014 that Vajpayee's birthday, December 25, would be marked as Good Governance Day.
He died on August 16, 2018 due to age-related illness.
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