New Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the heart of Delhi turned into a virtual fort-ress from Thursday morning as politicians across party lines made a beeline there to visit former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who passed away in the evening.
Mr Vajpayee’s health had deteriorated on Wednesday evening, which sparked a flurry of visits since then. The first to visit on Thursday morning was vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, followed by other leaders. As anxiety grew about the state of the 93-year-old leader’s health, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had visited AIIMS on Wednesday evening too, went there again, and got into a huddle with BJP president Amit Shah and Union health minister J.P. Nadda at the hospital.
A stream of leaders, including Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and the National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, visited him in hospital during the day as the former Prime Minister lay on extended life support.
As the visits continued, the Delhi police cordoned off the area near the building inside the AIIMS complex where the former PM was admitted. Soon after the news spread that the veteran leader’s health has deteriorated, people began flocking to the premier hospital and the police was deployed to manage the increasing crowd and traffic outside the hospital.
The security forces, along with the Delhi police, were on their toes since Thursday morning. Security was beefed up around AIIMS and its adjoining areas due to the heavy VVIP movement. On Thursday evening, the area around the BJP headquarters was also cordoned off by the Delhi police and other paramilitary forces as the mortal remains of the former Prime Minister would be brought here on Friday ahead of the last rites. At the party headquarters, the decorations put up for the Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday were taken down as a sombre note took over.
Delhi police sources said security will be beefed up near Vijay Ghat and traffic curbs will be in force on Friday.
