A sombre mood at ex-pm’s residence

NEW DELHI : Since 3pm on Thursday, the 6A- Krishna Menon Marg residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw several local BJP leaders and workers visiting amid a sombre mood.

By the time, AIIMS officials announced the death of the iconic leader, several more people had joined the party workers in making arrangements. The police presence had grown and traffic was being restricted outside.

Soon after the announcement of the death, Union ministers Ravi Shakar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan and Jitendra Singh reached Vajpayee’s residence to oversee the arrangements.

The police partially closed Krishna Menon Marg to manage the crowd, which began swelling from about 7pm. Besides politicians and retired bureaucrats, people from all walks of life had started reaching Vajpayee’s residence to pay their last respect to the BJP stalwart. From 8:30 pm, general public was also allowed to enter the premises, where the mortal remains of the departed leader will be kept until 9 am on Friday.

Some people came with bouquets from far flung areas to pay their last respects to the popular leader. “Atal ji was the best PM India has ever had for the simple reason that he always used to respect others and was sensitive to their needs. He is probably the only mass leader India has had, for whom even his staunchest political rivals have high regard and praise,” said Kashiram, 66, who goes by his first name. With a bouquet of white gladioli flowers, he came straight from work, he said.

Members of the Delhi BJP were helping with arrangements managing the stream of visitors.

Calling him “Jan Nayak”, Delhi BJP unit chief Manoj Tiwari, who was among the first ones to arrive at the former PM’S residence, said, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during his stints as opposition leader, distinguished himself as a great orator, and after becoming PM, he excelled with schemes like Sarv Siksha Abhiyan and Gramin Sadak Yojna, ultimately earning the image of ‘Rashtra Nayak’ (national hero).”