What was the experience of meeting Vajpayee like?
Mole issue: PIL against Vajpayee, Jaswant
"Indian sports persons had done well in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and now we are ready to enter the Olympics," the Indian prime minister said.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday congratulated the Indian cricket team on their victory over Australia in the second Test match at Adelaide.
'I don't think it is needed,' Vajpayee said in New Delhi when referred to Smriti Irani's demand.
The Pakistani leader said he had decided to cut short his stay in Agra twice after the Indians had "backed out" of what had been agreed earlier. However, he had been persuaded by his diplomats not to do so.
Mauritian Premier Anerood Jugnauth, former Commonwealth secretary-general Sridath Ramphal, British MP Navneet Dholakia and McKinsey partner Rajat Gupta are among them.
'I was fortunate enough to be associated with two of the most important battles fought by the Indian Army, the Battle of Tololing and Battle of Tiger Hill.' 'Sometimes, I think how I survived those battles on Tololing and on Tiger Hill.'
'The coming season will be one of the most dangerous phases of terrorism,' says Omar Abdullah, president of the National Conference.
Defence Minister George Fernandes said China wanted peace with India.
According his new year greetings to the country from Goa, the prime minister touched upon Hindutva, saying it is liberating and brooks no ill will, hatred or violence among different communities on any ground.
Mr Pradhan is not an especially charismatic leader or a brilliant orator, but his understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Offering his condolences to Vajpayee's family and admirers, Rahul Gandhi said the former prime minister was loved and respected by millions.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
He said in an ancient Indian sacrifice called 'Vajapeya', bamboo seeds were offered to fire.
'If Vajpayee's BJP saw a chance to redefine India's nuclear theology, Modi's BJP has scarcely paid any attention to it.'
Departing from the protocol, President Pranab Mukherjee will visit the former PM's residence to confer upon him the prestigious award.
He described as unfortunate the defeat of the BJP government in India, as it came after a breakthrough was achieved in Indo-Pak ties during Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan last year.
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.
It was said that Sharif wanted the PML-N-led coalition government to utilise all available diplomatic resources to restore peace between the two nuclear-armed states, saying he was not keen on taking an aggressive position, The Express Tribune reported.
"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini commemorated B.R. Ambedkar's birth anniversary, highlighting his contributions to women's empowerment and social justice. Saini and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticised the Congress party for allegedly disrespecting Ambedkar, while praising the current government's efforts to honour his legacy.
Modi said Vajpayee would remain an inspiration and said the outpouring of emotions following his death despite his being away from public life for over a decade due to illness, shows his greatness.
Yashwant Sinha, who served as finance minister and external affairs minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, salutes Atalji.
'When economic policies were attacked by people on his own side, he went ahead despite all the criticisms in the coalition, within the party and the Sangh Parivar.'
Ashok Lahiri, a distinguished economist with experience in government, the private sector, and electoral politics, has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, tasked with strengthening India's reform trajectory and policy-making.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday backed the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for according the Bharat Ratna to former prime minister and veteran leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
