Agnivesh alleges assault by BJP workers on way to pay homage to Vajpayee

Swami Agnivesh was allegedly heckled and assaulted near the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Friday by some people, who the social activist said were BJP workers, when he was on his way to pay homage to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

A video of the alleged attack that circulated on social media showed some people heckling the 79-year-old social activist.

"I was attacked while walking towards BJP headquarters to pay my respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Around 20-30 BJP workers came and surrounded me and pushed me. My pagdi fell down and they started calling me a traitor," Agnivesh told reporters.

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"They pushed me towards the Vishnu Digamber roundabout and kept abusing me. Some policemen were standing there but these persons, including some women, carrying slippers, kept abusing me," he added.

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee passes away at 93; India mourns its loss

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had been admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) since June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion, passed away on Thursday. He was 93 years old.

Since Wednesday evening, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), as well as those from other parties, had been visiting the hospital to enquire about the health of the former prime minister. This was after AIIMS issued a statement saying the condition of the 93-year-old leader was critical and informing that he had been kept on life support.

While prime minister Narendra Modi visited AIIMS on Wednesday evening as well as today morning, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Health Minister J P Nadda and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah were among those who paid a visit on today morning.

Vajpayee - The statesman who went beyond BJP's nationalist political agenda

Statesman and pragmatist, orator and poet, a man of peace and conviction. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a towering nationalist who softened the often sharp edge of his party's politics with a gentle sophistry of words, earning him the sobriquet "ajaat shatru" or the man with no enemies.

The first prime minister from a non-Congress party to complete a full term in office, Vajpayee began shakily -- his first stint as prime minister in 1996 lasted only 13 days when his unlikely coalition government failed to get support from other parties. The BJP-led coalition government came back to power in 1998, and this time Vajpayee stayed in office for 13 months before losing a no-confidence motion by one vote.

The National Democratic Alliance returned to power in October 1999 with Vajpayee as prime minister once again. This time he lasted the entire term, capping a glorious career that saw him go from student activist to journalist, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh pracharak, Member of Parliament, foreign minister, opposition leader and finally a much-loved leader of the nation.

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

Statesman politician, master orator: A timeline of Vajpayee's journey

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on June 11 with kidney and urinary infection and chest congestion, passed away on Thursday. He was 93.Often described as the moderate face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vajpayee served as the country’s prime minister for 13 days in 1996, 13 months in 1998, and a little under five years from 1999. He was India's first non-Congress prime minister to last a full five-year term.

Vajpayee began his political career as a freedom fighter, with his first brush with politics as part of the Quit India movement of 1942. As a student, Vajpayee had briefly been inclined toward communism. But it was the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that appealed to him more. Later, influenced by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Vajpayee in 1951 joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. An orator par excellence, he was lauded as a statesman politician who would go far beyond his party’s core political agenda for the larger good.

His journey in electoral politics began in 1957, when he contested the Lok Sabha elections from two seats and was elected from Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur constituency.