New Delhi: “Sadaiv Atal,” a memorial of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was dedicated to the nation on Tuesday on his 94th birth anniversary. President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the dignitaries who paid floral tributes to the former statesman at the memorial built near the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where his mortal remains were consigned to the flames on August 17.
“Tributes to Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We reiterate our commitment towards creating the India he dreamt of,” Mr Modi tweeted.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the family members of Vajpayee offered flowers at the lotus-shaped memorial. BJP chief Amit Shah also paid floral tributes at the memorial.
The Sadaiv Atal memorial will be managed by a trust headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The founding members of the society include Ms Mahajan, Bihar governor Lalji Tandon, Gujarat governor O.P. Kohli, Karnataka governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, and BJP leaders Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Ram Lal.
The memorial is enclosed by nine bas-relief walls with inscriptions of poetries penned by Vajpayee.
Spread over 1.5 acres of land, the memorial was constructed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at a cost of Rs 10.51 crore.
The project was funded by the Atal Smriti Nyas Society.
