'Inspired by his rich service to the nation': PM Modi pays tribute to Vajpayee

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On the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday paid their floral tribute at 'Sadaiv Atal' Samadhi in the national capital.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and others also paid floral tribute at 'Sadaiv Atal' on the occasion.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi said, "Tributes to respected Atal ji on his birth anniversary. Remembering Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We are inspired by his rich service to the nation. He devoted his life towards making India strong and developed. His development initiatives positively impacted millions of Indians."

Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birthday is celebrated as the 'Good Governance Day'. Vajpayee, who led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1998-2004, was the first-ever leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to have become the nation's Prime Minister.

He served as Prime Minister thrice- briefly in 1996, and then for two terms between 1998 and 2004.

One of the prominent leaders of the country and founder members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vajpayee died on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after a prolonged illness. He was 93.

The late leader was conferred Bharat Ratna in 2015. He had also been awarded Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Award for Best Parliamentarian in 1994. 

Born in 1924, Vajpayee was a founder member of the Jana Sangh and then the BJP, a party which rose from the margins to rule India for the first time in 1990s with him being its main face. His tenure is credited with ushering in a fresh wave of liberalisation, boosting growth and infrastructure.

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