Atal Bihari Vajpayee passes away: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at AIIMS in Delhi at 5.05pm on Thursday. He was 93. In a medical bulletin, the hospital said his condition deteriorated over the last 36 hours and he was put on life support systems. “Despite the best of efforts, we lost him today.” The Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, party veteran LK Advani, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, several union ministers and CMs and even former Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff mourned his death and paid him glowing tributes.
Vajpayee’s body will be taken to his residence at 7pm and hundreds of well wishers have gathered there to pay their last respects. The mortal remains will be taken to the BJP headquarters at 10am on Friday and the samadhi will be done at Vijay Ghat, near Rajghat, at 5pm on Friday.
