Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's last journey begins
New Delhi, Aug 17 (IBNS): The last journey of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away a day ago, began in the national capital.
The funeral procession started from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters, where Vajpayee's mortal remains were kept since noon for the people to pay homage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with several other BJP leaders, are present in the funeral procession.
Vajpayee will be cremated at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal at 4 pm.
LIVE : Last rites of Bharat Ratna, former PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. #AtaljiAmarRahen https://t.co/AiZHEPKUcZ
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 17, 2018
Vajpayee, a three-time Prime Minister of India, a Bharat Ratna and a stalwart of Indian politics who represented the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 93.
He was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.
Vajpayee, whose first term as the Prime Minister lasted only 13 days in 1996, returned to the top position in 1998 to lead the nation till 2004.
A bachelor all his life, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2015.
Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha (lower house) ten times and twice to the Rajya Sabha (upper house).
He represented the Lucknow parliamentary seat in Uttar Pradesh until 2009 when he retired from active politics.
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