Vajpayee's ashes handed over to BJP state heads for immersion in 100 rivers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leaders handed urns with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes to party presidents from across the country at a function in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Party chief Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. as well as members of Vajpayee's family, were present at the event held in the BJP headquarters here.

The BJP has decided to take out 'asthi kalash yatras' in all districts and immerse the ashes in rivers across the country.

The yatra was being organised as party workers and people in the country wanted to pay tribute to the late prime minister, who died last week after prolonged illness at the age of 93, party leaders said.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee cremated, daughter Namita lights funeral pyre

Bugles sounded the last post, uniformed soldiers clicked their heels and a sombre silence fell over the crowd as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mortal remains were consigned to the flames on Friday evening, the sun setting on the life of a poet-politician who combined accommodative politics with graciousness.

Foster daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya lit the pyre as cries of "Atal Bihari Amar Rahe" reverberated.

India's top leadership, foreign dignitaries and the common man mourned Vajpayee's death and bid an emotional farewell to the former prime minister who was one of the most-loved leaders in decades and had acceptability across a diverse ideological spectrum.
Chief ministers, opposition leaders, chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force, governors and a host of other dignitaries attended the funeral of Vajpayee at Rastriya Smriti Sthal, a picturesque cremation site at the heart of the capital.

Nuclear India to educated Bharat, how Vajpayee led us to brighter future

Satta ka khel toh chalega,

Sarkarein aayengi… jaayengi…

Partiyaan banengi… bigadengi…

Magar ye desh rahna chahiye,

Is desh ka loktantra amar rahna chahiye…!

["The game of politics will be played endlessly, Governments will come, and perish…parties will be created and destroyed… But this nation must survive, and this nation’s democracy must live on…!]

These words of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, spoken in the Lok Sabha in 1996 have been etched in public memory. One of independent India's tallest leaders, Vajpayee passed away on August 16, aged 93, at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). In a political career spanning more than 47 years, Vajpayee was at the centre of several key moments in modern Indian history. From arriving at Parliament on a bullock cart to protest fuel price hike to representing the nation's interest at the United Nations as an opposition leader, Vajpayee has left behind a political legacy that few can rival.

Vajpayee served as the country’s prime minister thrice – first for 13 days, then 13 months, and finally four-and-a half years. As PM, he took India ahead into the future with some crucial reforms. Here are some of the most important developments during his tenure