Atal Bihari Vajpayee funeral: Narendra Modi walks with procession

Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees cortege left the BJPs headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal for the last rites of the poetpoliticianPeople from across the country gathered outside the BJP headquarters and hundreds lined up inside to pay homage to the former prime minister who wove together pragmatism and a vision for an inclusive IndiaAtal Bihari Vajpayee 93 passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS here last evening after prolonged illness The young and old men and women some with children collected outside the gates of the BJP headquarters anxious for a last glimpse of the late leader before the state funeral at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on the banks of the Yamuna later in the daySome clambered on a neem tree outside the BJP headquarters for a better look desperate to be part of the proceedings but unable to get inside Two big LED screens were placed outside the office Inside Prime Minister Narendra Modi BJP president Amit Shah and a host of ministers and party workers paid their last respects to the late leader mourned by them and the opposition as one of Indias tallest leaders The air was solemn as Vajpayees body draped in the tricolour was placed on a platform draped in white flowers Hundreds of people filed past the body in silence with a large portrait of a smiling Vajpayee a BJP flag on either side in the backdropWATCH The mortal remains of former PM AtalBihariVajpayee being taken to Smriti Sthal for the funeral PM Modi Amit Shah and other BJP leaders also take part in the procession pictwittercomk35LfX4Tpsmdash ANI ANI August 17 2018Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali were among the foreign dignitaries who arrived here to pay their last respects to the former prime minister Sri Lankas Acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella Nepals Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali Pakistans acting information minister Syed Zafar Ali and a senior minister from Afghanistan are also expected to arrive later in the day official sources saidOpposition leaders like CPIs D Raja and CPIMs Sitaram Yechury were among those who visited the BJP headquarters to pay their respects Earlier in the morning hundreds of people chanted Atal Bihari Amar Rahe as Vajpayees cortege made its way from his home through the city to reach the BJP officeMourners walked and ran beside the carriage also chanting slogans like Jab tak sooraj chand rahega Atal ji ka naam rahega punctuated by patriotic cheers of Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram A decorated gun carriage carrying his mortal remains had left his home on Krishna Menon Marg around 10 am and reached the partys headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg about five kilometres away around 11 amIn the crowd were Ganeshan 38 and Chennaiah Nadesan 45 who had flown in from Tamil Nadu This massive turnout of people who have come here to pay their respects to Atalji shows that he resided in the hearts of people Not only has India has lost a leader a son the world has lost a statesman BJP leader Anurag Thakur told reportersThe funeral procession will go through Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg Delhi Gate Netaji Subhash Marg Nishadraj Marg and Shanti van before reaching Smriti Sthal Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet Police has made elaborate security arrangements for the funeral procession officials saidSeen as a moderate face of BJP Vajpayee first became prime minister in 1996 leading a shaky coalition whose members were suspicious of the BJPs rightwing politics It lasted for 13 days and collapsed after losing a vote of noconfidence His second stint as prime minister was in 1998 when the National Democratic Alliance again came to power but that lasted for just 13 monthsFinally the NDA with Vajpayee as PM returned to power in 1999 and was voted out in 2004 In the morning Congress President Rahul Gandhi Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu National Security Advisor Ajit Doval Army Chief Bipin Rawat Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat paid homage to the former prime minister at his official residenceIn view of the funeral procession several roads in the national capital have been closed for the public later in the day Some roads closed from 8 am include Krishna Menon Marg Sunehri Bagh Road Tughlak Road Akbar Road Tees January Marg Man Singh Road Bhagwan Dass Road Shahjahan Road and Sikandara RoadDDU Marg IP Marg BSZ Marg from Tilak Bridge to Delhi Gate JLN Marg from Rajghat to Delhi Gate will also be closed the traffic police said Commuters have been advised to use Aurobindo Marg Safdarjung Road Mother Teresa Crescent Park Street Mandir Marg to travel between north and south Delhi Those travelling between east and west Delhi can use Vikas Marg Shahdara Bridge and Wazirabad Bridge to reach Ring RoadAlso Read Narendra Modi On Atal Bihari Vajpayees Demise Lost A Father FigureCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever