When AIIMS doctors paid their last respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday evening breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. While political leaders from across the party lines, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, made a beeline at the hospital ahead of the announcement of the demise, it was the doctors of the premier healthcare institution who were the first to pay their last respects to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) co-founder.
The doctors paid tribute to the political stalwart inside the ward where the former prime minister underwent treatment. The doctors stood in a queue and observed silence to mark their last respect to the three-time prime minister of the country.
A photograph of the doctors paying their last respect to the veteran political stalwart has been accessed by Zee News.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last at 5.05 pm on Thursday and the same was confirmed by AIIMS through an official press release. Elaborate arrangements were made at the hospital as well as the residence of the former prime minister before the announcement of Vajpayee’s demise was made by the hospital.
“It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee at 05:05pm on 16.08.2018. Shri Vajpayee was admitted in AIIMS on 11.06.2018 and was stable in the last 9 weeks under the care of a team of AIIMS doctors,” read the statement released by AIIMS.
It further read, “Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated over the last 36 hours and he was put on life support systems. Despite the best of efforts, we have lost him today. We join the Nation in deeply mourning this great loss.”
The mortal remains of the BJP co-founder was taken from the hospital to his residence, where political leaders from across the country converged to pay their last respects to the iconic leader. From Prime Minister Modi to Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, several big names of the Indian polity reached Vajpayee’s residence soon after the news of his demise came in.
The mortal remains will be kept at BJP headquarters for the general public to pay their last respect from 9 am to 1 pm on Friday, following which the final journey of the former prime minister would begin. He will be accorded a state funeral at 4 pm on Friday at Smriti Sthal in the national capital.
