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Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid to rest at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in Delhi

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Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid to rest at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in Delhi

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee laid to rest at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in Delhi (Video grab)

The sun shone mildly through the dark cloud on Friday as the nation mourns. It was the last moment of the statesman that he was. A huge crowd thronged to either get the last glimpse or join the procession - the final journey of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former prime minister of India and BJP stalwart, as his body wrapped in bright tricolour was being carried to his final resting place. Top international and national leaders from across the country descended to pay their last respects and thousands gathered to bid their last goodbye to their leader.

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The last rites of former prime minister and country’s tallest leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be held at 4 pm at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in Delhi today (Friday). The body of Bharat Ratna Vajpayee has been kept at his official residence—6, A Krishna Menon Marg—for last respects. People would be allowed to pay last respects to Vajpayee from 7:30 am to 8:30 am. After that, his body would be taken to BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.

Vajpayee, a statesman politician and passionate poet breathed his last at 5:05 pm on Thursday. The 93-year-old BJP leader was suffering from multiple ailments for the last nine weeks. He was admitted to AIIMS hospital on June 11.

Live Updates:

# 05:12 PM: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan acting law minister Syed Ali Zafar, Nepal Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali and EAM Sushma Swaraj were present at funeral of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

# 05:01 PM: Former prime minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee cremated with full state honours at Smriti Sthal in Delhi.

# 04:50 PM: An Era Ends: Atal Bihari Vajpayee Laid To Rest.

# 04:48 PM: Gun salute accorded to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Smriti Sthal.

# 04:47 PM: The last rites are being performed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's daughter Namita Bhattacharya.

#04:40 PM: Last rites ceremony of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee underway at Smriti Sthal.

#04:30 PM: Tricolour wrapped around mortal remains of Atal Bihari Vajpayee handed over to his granddaughter Niharika.

#04:25 PM: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Sri Lanka acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella pay last respects to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Smriti Sthal.

#04:15 PM: The last bugle sounded for the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as he is laid to rest.

#04:10 PM: President Ram Nath Kovind pays last respects to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Smriti Sthal in Delhi.

#04:05 PM: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba & Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, pay last tribute to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Smriti Sthal in Delhi

#04:00 PM: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pay their last respects to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

#03:50 PM: : Last rites ceremony of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Smriti Sthal

#03:40 PM: Thousands of people gathered on the streets to bid farewell to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He will be given a State funeral at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

#03:30 PM: Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Rahul Gandhi arrive at Smriti Sthal for the funeral of former PM

#03:20 PM: Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

#03:10 PM: All the medals which will be won by the Indian athletes in Asian Games 2018 will be dedicated to the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Chef de Mission (CDM) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

#03:00 PM: The mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee being taken to Smriti Sthal for the funeral. PM Modi, Amit Shah and other BJP leaders also take part in the procession.

#02:50 PM: Union Jack flies at half-mast at the British High Commission in New Delhi as a mark of respect to Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee

#02:40 PM: More visuals from Atal Bihari Vajpayee's final journey.

#02:30 PM: Visuals of people gathered during funeral possession of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Smriti Sthal.

#02:20 PM: The mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee being taken to Smriti Sthal for funeral. PM Modi and Amit Shah also take part in the procession. The distance is around 4 kilometers.

#02:10 PM: PM Modi, Amit Shah takes part in the funeral procession of Atal Bihari Vajpayee

#02:00 PM: Mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee being taken from BJP Headquarters to Smriti Sthal for the funeral

#01:50 PM: Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav pays tribute to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at BJP HQs

#01:30 PM: Being PM he was simple, he treated everyone respectfully. When asked how will he solve Kashmir issue within constitutional boundaries, he said we will solve it with humanity.with this he won hearts of Kashmiris: Sudheendra Kulkarni, Ex-aide to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

#01:20 PM: Sri Lanka acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM

#01:10 PM: It was the speciality of Atal ji that he never let humanity be harmed due to the political & ideological differences. Such principle is needed in the country today: Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) General Secretary

#01:00 PM: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP MP Sanjay Singh pay last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#12:50 PM: He was an enormously important person who we have great respect for and it's a great loss for India. I wanted to pay my respects to a man of that stature: Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India

#12:40 PM: We remember him for his contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War and strong support to the people of Bangladesh. He had a great liking for Bengali music. I had the privilege of serving in Delhi as career diplomat when he became Foreign Minister: Bangladesh Foreign Minister

#12:30 PM: BJP MP Hema Malini pays last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the BJP Headquarters in Delhi.

#12:20 PM: I met him once in 2006. He was a very good orator. The void of his absence can never be filled by anyone in Indian politics, he has been a role model for everyone and inspired many through his poetry, speeches and oratorship: Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar

#12:10 pM: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal Pradeep Kumar Gyawali arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM.

#11:50 AM: Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

#11:35 AM: Delhi: Veteran BJP leader LK Advani and his daughter Pratibha Advani with Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray and his family at the BJP Headquarters. 

#11:30 AM: King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk arrives in Delhi, he will attend the funeral of former PM.

#11:25 AM: 'Friendship with Pakistan will be a true tribute to Atal': He wanted India to be everybody's. He also wanted to strike up a friendship with Pakistan. Unfortunately, he couldn't see that. I hope that the current govt & Pakistan's Imran Khan govt fulfill his dream, that will be a true tribute to him, says Farooq Abdullah

#11:15 AM: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik pay last respects to former Prime Minister #AtalBihariVajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#11:05 AM: Delhi: DMK leader A Raja, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and Manipur CM N Biren Singh pay last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#10:55 AM: Delhi: Union Minister Suresh Prabhu and BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav pay last respects to former Prime Minister #AtalBihariVajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#10:50 AM: BJP President Amit Shah and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh pays last respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#10:45 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays last respects to former Prime Minister #AtalBihariVajpayee at BJP Headquarters.

#10:40 AM: The mortal remains of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been brought to BJP Headquarters.

# 10:30 AM: A huge crowd gathers at BJP Headquarters.

# 10:20 AM: Chants of 'Atal Bihari amar rahe' and 'Vande Mataram' emerges.

#10:05 AM: The mortal remains of Bharat Ratna awardee Atal Bihari Vajpayee are being taken to BJP Headquarters.

#09:50 AM: PM Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters

#09:20 AM: Half day holiday for Supreme Court: The government of India declared half day holiday to attend the state funeral of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Supreme Court and the Registry will sit till 1 pm.

#09:10 AM: Delhi Traffic Police issue traffic advisory as several roads to remain shut for Vajpayee's funeral: A traffic advisory has been issued by the Delhi Traffic Police as several roads in the Delhi will be closed for the public on Friday due to country’s tallest leader and former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s final journey and last rites, the Delhi Traffic Police said on Friday.

#09:05 AM: Chandrababu Naidu pays last respects to Vajpayee: Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.

#08:55 AM: Rahul Gandhi pas homage to Vajpayee: Congress President Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi. 

#08:50 AM: Navy chief Sunil Lanba pays last respect to Vajpayee: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.

#08:40 AM: Vajpayee's favourite Kanpur's 'Thaggu ke Laddu': 'Thaggu ke Laddu' a sweet shop in Kanpur was often visited by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Owner says, 'whenever BJP leaders in Kanpur used to go to meet him they would get laddoos packed for him. He loved food.' 

#08:25 AM: Army Chief pays homage to Vajpayee: Army Chief Bipin Rawat pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.

#08:10 AM: Heavy security arrangement for last rites procession: Delhi police has made elaborate security arrangements for the last rites procession. It will be ensured that the people who come to pay last respect & the commuters face minimum inconvenience & that there is no compromise with security: Delhi DCP Madhur Verma

#08:00 AM: Mohan Bhagwat pays tribute to Vajpayee: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.

#07:50 AM: Javed Akhtar & Shabana Azmi pay homage to Vajpayee: Javed Akhtar & Shabana Azmi arrive at former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's residence to pay last respects. Javed Akhtar says,'very rare that a politician is respected across party lines. People with different ideology have also come as they love him because he used to love all' Delhi.

#07:40 AM: Kerala, Tamil Nadu governors pay tributes to Modi: Kerala governor P. Sathasivam & Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit pay tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Delhi.

#07:15 AM: Vajpayee's body to be taken to BJP HQ at 9 AM: Trucks which will be a part of the convoy in which former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's mortal remains will be taken to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters & for the funeral. 

#07:00 AM: US mourns Vajpayee's death: The American people and I stand with the people of India as we mourn Prime Minister Vajpayee’s passing. Today, we hold the people of India in our thoughts and prayer: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement.

#06:45 AM: Imran Khan condoles Vajpayee's death: Pakistan Prime Minister-designate Imran Khan offered his condolences on the demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying the best way to honour the "towering leader" is by establishing peace between India & Pakistan. He said that the best way to honour the "towering leader" is by establishing peace between India and Pakistan

#06:30 AM: WestBengal: Locals in Siliguri pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. (16.08.18)

#06:15 AM: Watch LIVE visuals from Vajpayee's residence.

#06:00 AM: India lost its tallest and most loved leader, Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday. The former prime minister rose above hardline politics and was probably the only Indian politician who was accepted by all and across the party line. The last rites of the BJP stalwart will be performed at 4 pm today at Delhi's Smrthi Sthal. Stay with us for all the live updates on Vajpayee's death. May the departed soul Rest In Peace.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Funeral Vajpayee Smriti Sthal