Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was cremated with full state honours at Smriti Sthal in Delhi on Friday. His daughter Namita Bhattacharya lit the funeral pyre and the poet-politician was given a gun salute.
India's 10th prime minister breathed his last at 5:05 pm on Thursday after spending nine weeks at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), where he was undergoing treatment for Urinary Tract Infection, low urine output and chest congestion. He was 93.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa also paid their last tribute to Vajpayee.
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The ceremony was also attended by a string of foreign dignitaries including King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Sri Lanka's acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Earlier in the day, the cadaver was taken out from the newly built Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters - the walls of which saw Vajpayee for the first and the last time. People sprinkled rose petals on their beloved leader as his final journey began towards Smriti Sthal - a large piece of land with manicured grass behind the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.
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Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah followed their leader through the lanes of Darya Ganj leading up to Rajghat.
Vajpayee, who led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1998 to 2004, was the first-ever member of the Bharatiya Janata Party to become India's Prime Minister. He was given Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian honour - in 2015.
HIGHLIGHTS:
4:43 pm
Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cremated With Full Military Honour
4:35 pm
Tricolour wrapped around mortal remains of Atal Bihari Vajpayee handed over to his granddaughter Niharika.
03.50 pm
Mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee brought to Smriti Sthal for funeral. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan pay last respects to former PM.
03.40 pm
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Ashok Gehlot and Raj Babbar, at Smriti Sthal for the funeral of former PM
03.30 pm
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Rahul Gandhi arrive at Smriti Sthal for the funeral of former PM
03.00 pm
Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM
02.45 pm
02.00 pm
Mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee taken from BJP Headquarters to Smriti Sthal for the funeral.
01.00 pm
Sri Lanka acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM
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12.50 pm
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP MP Sanjay Singh pay last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at BJP Headquarters.
12.45 pm
He was an enormously important person who we have great respect for and it's a great loss for India. I wanted to pay my respects to a man of that stature: Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India
It was the speciality of Atal ji that he never let humanity be harmed due to the political & ideological differences. Such principle is needed in the country today: Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) General Secretary
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12.15 pm
I met him once in 2006. He was a very good orator. The void of his absence can never be filled by anyone in Indian politics, he has been a role model for everyone and inspired many through his poetry, speeches and oratorship; Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar
11.30 am
King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
11.15 am
11.05 am
The mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee brought to BJP Headquarters.
10.15 am
Huge crowd gathers at BJP Headquarters where mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be brought shortly.
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10.00 am
9.52 am
West Bengal govt declares half-day holiday following Vajpayee's death.
9.50 am
PM Narendra Modi arrives at BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg where mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be brought shortly.
9.45 am
Supreme Court and the Registry will observe half-day holiday today and will sit till 1 pm.
9.20 am
Chiefs of the Indan Army, Navy and Air Force pay their respects to the former prime minister.
8.50 am
Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.
8.30 am
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Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.
8.10 am
7.45 am
8.00 am
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.
7.15 am
Trucks which will be a part of the convoy in which former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mortal remains will be taken to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters & for funeral.
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The final journey to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal would begin around 1 pm.
