PM releases ₹100 memorial coin in Vajpayee’s honour

NEW DELHI/ KHURDA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday released a commemorative Rs 100 coin in the memory of Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the eve of the 94th birth anniversary of the former prime minister and Bharat Ratna recipient.

Addressing a gathering at the Parliament House Annexe here, Modi said Vajpayee never compromised on party ideologies and always stood for national interest.

“For some people, power is oxygen...they can’t live without it...a long part of Atalji’s career was spent in the opposition benches, but he spoke about national interest and never compromised on the ideology of the party. For long, the voice of Atalji was the voice of the nation,” the PM said.

“I assume that there must have been invitations from other ideologies for joining hands to remain in power. Such things must have happened. But he never compromised,” said Modi, in an apparent message aimed at the Opposition leaders trying to cobble up a united force against the BJP.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, finance minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of state for culture Mahesh Sharma, BJP president Amit Shah and veteran BJP leader and Vajpayee’s contemporary L.K. Advani were also present at the event.

The government and the party have planned a series of events on Tuesday, Vajpayee’s birthday, in the memory of the leader.

PM MODI BLOWS POLL BUGLE IN ODISHA

During the day, Modi also visited Odisha, where he hit out at Naveen Patnaik’s BJD government alleging that inefficiency and corruption has kept the state backward despite assistance from the Centre and sought to know who is “feeding and patronising the demon of corruption”.