President Mukherjee Confers ‘Bharat Ratna’ On Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

27 March, New Delhi

President Pranab Mukherjee Friday conferred Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The award was given at his residence in New Delhi. Mr Vajpayee was the country’s first non-Congress Prime Minister who served a full five-year term from 1998 to 2004.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his senior cabinet colleagues including Arun Jaitley, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, BJP President Amit Shah and leaders from different political parties besides RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat were also present on the occasion.

Prime Minister has said Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an inspiration for so many Indians like him. “ Today is a historic day for the country”, he said.