India mourns passing of three-time PM Vajpayee

neW Delhi: Three-time Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (pic) has died, sparking tributes from across the political spectrum as current leader Narendra Modi mourned the “irreplaceable loss” of the respected statesman.

The 93-year-old had battled poor health for years but his condition deteriorated sharply in recent days, with doctors placing him on life support.

The sudden turn sparked a flurry of visits from top dignitaries, including Modi, who credited Vajpayee with laying the foundations for the meteoric rise of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that rules India today.

“It was Atal Ji’s exemplary leadership that set the foundations for a strong, prosperous and inclusive India in the 21st century,” Modi said in a tweet yesterday, using a Hindilanguage honorific.

The former journalist and poetturned-politician was one of the few opposition lawmakers in parliament when India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru still held office.

His more than five-decade-long career peaked in the 1990s, when his masterful oratory attracted tens of thousands of people to his rallies across the country.

He also became the first nonCongress leader since India’s independence in 1947 to complete an entire term in office as head of a BJP-led ruling alliance between March 1998 and May 2004. — AFP