Visitors from several states throng BJP office to pay homage to BJP stalwart who died Thursday.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah will join tens of thousands of mourners during the funeral procession of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee Friday.
‘Laut ke aaunga, kooch se kyun daroon (I’ll come back, why should I fear leaving.)’
Of the scores of poems by Vajpayee, the party top brass decided to use these two lines to be put up on two large flex canvasses along with a smiling portrait of the of the former PM on the gun carriage carrying his body. The lines sum up the emotions that many who turned up from across the country felt for their leader, party leaders said.
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The 3.6-km procession route to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in the national capital has also been decorated with photos and inspirational quotes of Vajpayee. The road to the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg was decked up with white flowers as a tribute to the leader who was synonymous with the party.
The veteran BJP leader died Thursday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after a prolonged illness.
Paying homage
Visitors from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and other states thronged the BJP office Friday morning to pay homage.
The surroundings echoed shlokas from the Bhagwad Gita as people pressed against the bars of the gate waiting for security personnel to let them in.
Trying to be steady at his place was Satpal Sharma. The 77-year-old came from Himachal Pradesh and struggled to retain his first spot in the queue since morning. “I had met Vajpayee when he visited Himachal. People of my state loved him,” said Sharma.
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Another visitor, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, said he flew in from Pune for Vajpayee’s last darshan.
As the entry gate was thrown open to the public, chants of ‘Atal Bihari Amar Rahe’ filled the air.
Deepa Aggarwal, along with her family members, too started around 6 in the morning from Mathura to pay her last respects to her favourite leader. “We had the chance of hearing him on many occasions. I could not miss the opportunity of his last darshan,” said Aggarwal.
Arrangements
Earlier in the morning, Amit Shah reached Vajpayee’s residence to personally supervise the arrangements for the funeral. He also decided to accompany the body to the BJP headquarters.
The body was kept in a multi-purpose hall at the headquarters to accommodate the large number of visitors.
Dignitaries, leaders and the public were also allowed to offer their last respects to the poet-politician at his residence until late on Thursday night. “It was stopped for a few hours and darshan began early morning again,” said a senior party leader.