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PM releases commemorative coin in honour of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi has released a INR 100 commemorative coin in honour of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the occasion of his 94th birth anniversary. Speaking on the occasion on December 25, he said that our minds are not ready to believe that Shri Vajpayee is no longer with us. He was a stalwart loved and respected across all sections of society, he added.PM Modi said that over decades, Shri Vajpayee’s voice remained the voice of the people. As a speaker, he was unparalleled. He is among the best orators our nation has produced, the Prime Minister added. Narendra Modi said that a long part of Shri Vajpayee’s career was spent in the opposition benches, but he always spoke about national interest. The Prime Minister said that Shri Vajpayee wanted democracy to be supreme. He expressed confidence that Shri Vajpayee will continue to be an inspiration for all of us. Incidentally,  Gwalior born Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India: first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally, for a full term from 1999 to 2004. He was one of the founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  and was the first Indian prime minister who was not a member of the Indian National Congress party to have served a full five-year term in office. He was also a noted poet writing in Hindi. His published works include Kaidi kavirai ki kundalian, a collection of poems written when he was imprisoned during the 1975–77 emergency, and Amar aag hai. “My poetry is a declaration of war, not a discourse to defeat. It is not the defeated soldier’s drumbeat of despair, but the fighting warrior’s will to win. It is not the dispirited voice of dejection but the stirring shout of victory.He had suffered a stroke in 2009 which impaired his speech.[ His health had been a major source of concern; reports said he was confined to a wheelchair and failed to recognise people. He also suffered from dementia and long-term diabetes, says Wikipedia.

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