Newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party national working president Nitin Nabin on Monday termed his elevation as a blessing of the party and claimed that it is the only political outfit that allows its grassroots workers to thrive.
Modi broke his own 98-minute record from the 78th Independence Day last year.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma on Tuesday drew comparisons between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that the BJP strongman is a good administrator but lacks secular credentials unlike the erstwhile Prime Minister.
Born in 1924, Vajpayee entered politics during the Quit India movement in 1942. He was also the first external affairs minister to deliver a speech in the UN Assembly in Hindi. Vajpayee was elected to Lok Sabha from Lucknow in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He is the first and the only non-Congress leader who completed his full term as prime minister.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Tuesday said he suffered from an inferiority complex due to the oratorical skills of his party colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee and now has the same problem when he hears Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the conferment of Bharat Ratna on Madan Mohan Malviya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a "fitting recognition" of the services of the "illustrious stalwarts" to the nation.
Lashkar chief Hafeez Mohammed Sayeed was quoted as saying, Listen, O Vajpayee! We are about to unleash a spate of suicide attacks.
Sonia Gandhi has criticised the Modi government's silence on the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, arguing it raises doubts about India's foreign policy direction and credibility.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant has been fined Rs 30 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate during his team's defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last IPL match in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj expressed disappointment over former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee not getting the Bharat Ratna this year, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party was expecting it. She also said the sanctity of these awards should be maintained as even some failures have been conferred with the honour.
'You cannot run Parliament with 800 MPs as nobody will get time (to speak in Parliament). And Parliament sits for barely 60 days in a year.' 'Look at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. They have 650 MPs and they sit for 150 days on an average in a year.'
What was the experience of meeting Vajpayee like?
60 per cent [people in Pakistan] think Indo-Pak relations are better under Manmohan Singh than it was under his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Apparently seeking to pacify an angry BJP, Joint Parliamentary Committee chief P C Chacko on Tuesday dismissed reports that the panel has named former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in its draft report in the 2G scam.
Modi will take oath for a second term on Thursday at 7 pm.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani has requested the government to honour former Prime Minister and senior BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee with the Bharat Ratna, the country's higest civilian honour.
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
The decisions were taken in the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The Congress party has criticized the government for not inviting Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to the banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin, while also questioning Shashi Tharoor's decision to accept the invitation.
'Tributes to beloved Atal Ji on his Punya Tithi. India will always remember his outstanding service and efforts towards our nation's progress,' Modi tweeted.
A prayer meeting was held at Sadaiv Atal -- the memorial to Vajpayee -- to mark the birth anniversary of the former prime minister.
He said Indians will reflect on Vajpayee's many contributions that led to India's rise as a global and economic power.
A Russian defence expert says the reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for integration into the JF-17 will actually benefit India, dismissing criticism of the Indian government by the opposition.
'Why are IPKF martyrs not being officially recognised and appropriately honoured? And is the government really changing its mind on this now?', asks Aditi Phadnis.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
While the Modi government had jump-started its second innings taking one major decision after another, there is a deep sense of loss in the party over the demise of Swaraj and Jaitley.
The BJP stalwart continues to be in the intensive care unit of the Cardio-thoracic Centre at the hospital.
The Indian cricketers wore black arm bands on the first day of the third Test against England in Nottingham on Saturday as a mark of respect to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former captain Ajit Wadekar.
Soon after his return from foreign tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's house here and greeted him on his 91st birthday.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked the players to win hearts too apart from matches
The 6-lane bridge spanning approximately 22 km can accommodate 70,000 commuters daily at a speed of 100 kmph.
The former PM was admitted with complaints of drowsiness and giddiness
On party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's remarks in Rampur on Saturday that the second-generation leadership would lead the party in the next elections, he said there was nothing unusual about his statement.
In his first trip to the US in 1960, Atal Bihari Vajpayee befriended a young IFS officer posted in the permanent mission of India to the UN and explored New York with him, visiting museums, art galleries and even nightclubs, says a new biography of the former prime minister.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Nehru, India's longest-serving prime minister (1947-63), addressed the nation 17 times from the Red Fort. India's second prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered speeches from the Red Fort ramparts for two Independence Days in 1964 and 1965.
The BJP leaders were protesting against the rising inflation.
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