The family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the proposed site for his memorial at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi. The memorial, measuring around 900 square metres, will be located adjacent to the memorial of former President Pranab Mukherjee. A trust will be set up to oversee the construction of the memorial, which will be funded by a government grant of Rs 25 lakh.
After the people pay their homage for an hour on Friday morning, the late prime minister's body will be taken to the BJP headquarters where it will lie in state before the funeral.
Meanwhile, a 25-feet high statue of Vajpayee will be installed in Uttar Pradesh government secretariat in Lucknow
Thousands of mourners jostled and some clambered on trees to capture the moment on their phones as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cortege left the Bharatiya Janata Party's headquarters for Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.
Amid prayers and a 21-gun salute, his body was consigned to flames at Smriti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna where Vice President Hamid Ansari and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were also present.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
Vajpayee's ashes will be immersed in rivers in all the districts in Uttar Pradesh -- his karmabhoomi.
"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
Seeking to put aside speculation about a rift over Maharashtra assembly poll seat-sharing in Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, BJP president Amit Shah met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai on Thursday night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states to carve a niche for their governments in some or other sector of governance and called for giving topmost priority to 'ease of living' of people.
Vajpayee's last rites will be performed at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi at 4 pm on Friday.
Hours after the work of draping the statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol elephant was completed, the parks in which they were installed in Lucknow have been closed for the public till the assembly polls get over. There are nine such parks including Manyavar Kanshiramj Green Eco Garden at VIP Road, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, Gomtinagar and Smriti Upvan, Ashiana Kanshiram Smarak, Jail Road.
Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao has finally got a memorial in his name in the national capital, ten years after his demise.
He was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances