Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, three-time Prime Minister of India and one of the country's most respected politicians, has died. The AIIMS AIIMS, where the 93-year-old was being treated for nine weeks, made the announcement at around five on Thursday evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the hospital twice in 24 hours and top politicians from across parties arrived as the former prime minister's health worsened on Wednesday. Vajpayee was admitted to hospital on June 11 with a kidney tract infection and chest congestion.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a moderate face in saffron politics and the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full term in office, died on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 93.
“It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at 5.05 p.m. on 16.08.2018,” an AIIMS press statement said on Thursday.
The statement said Vajpayee was admitted on June 11 and was stable in the last nine weeks. “Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated over the last 36 hours and he was put on life support system. Despite the best of efforts, we have lost him today.”
Vajpayee, a diabetic patient, was undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). His condition worsened further on Wednesday evening with leaders from across the political spectrum thronging the hospital and enquiring about his health.
The former Prime Minister, whose birthday on December 25 is celebrated as Good Governance Day, was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 2014 at his home.
He was Prime Minister for 13 days in mid-1996 when he was forced to resign ahead of the confidence vote for which he did not have the numbers.
Vajpayee again became the Prime Minister in March 1998 but his government fell 13 months later on the floor of the Lok Sabha losing by one vote in the confidence motion after AIADMK headed by the late Jayalalithaa withdrew support to the BJP.
The BJP government headed by Vajpayee returned to power in 1999 and completed its full term till 2014.
Since 2009, the veteran politician had largely been confined to his home on Krishna Menon Marg in the heart of Delhi, away from public life due to his failing health.
He was considered the gold standard of leadership in the BJP and had admirers even among rival parties.
Since morning, BJP chief Amit Shah and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda and Venkaiah Naidu and several other leaders had been visiting the hospital.
At the BJP headquarters in Delhi, decorations put up for Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday were taken down as a sombre note took over.
LK Advani, one of Vajpayee’s closest colleagues and his deputy in the NDA government from 1998 to 2004, was among the visitors.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday termed former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s passing away a “very big loss” to the nation.
“Very very saddened that the great statesman and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji is no more with us.
“His passing away is a very big loss to our nation. I will always cherish many fond memories with him. Condolences to his family and his many admirers,” Mamata tweeted. (IANS)