Paying glowing tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the late leader never compromised on his ideology and did not buckle under global pressure even after the nuclear tests in 1998.

Modi said that Vajpayee’s popularity was so immense that he remained alive in people’s memories despite being completely away from public life for the last 10 years.

Addressing a prayer meeting organised in the memory of Vajpayee, the Prime Minister noted that the late leader spent most of his political life at a time when there was virtually no alternative to the dominant political ideology.

“Despite facing isolation, he remained committed to his ideals. He stayed in opposition for so long, yet his ideals remained untouched,” Modi said.

He said that Vajpayee respected parliamentary traditions and when the opportunity came, he implemented his vision for the benefit of the people.

“In each moment, you could feel the ‘Atal’ in him,” the Prime Minister said.

Recalling how Vajpayee surprised the world through the nuclear tests in 1998 during his prime ministership, Modi said that despite global adverse reaction, Atalji did not buckle under pressure, and showed the world that “India is Atal”.

The Prime Minister said that three new states were formed under Vajpayee leadership, without any trace of bitterness.

“Vajpayeeji showed how to take everyone together in decision-making,” he said.

Shedding light on Vajpayee’s achievements as Prime Minister, Modi said that in a huge diplomatic victory, Vajpayee managed to turn around the international narrative on Kashmir — on which India used to be defensive till then — and bring the focus on to terrorism.

“Vajpayee successfully divided the world into two clear halves — those who were with terrorism and those against it,” he said.

The Prime Minister recalled that when Vajpayee first formed the government at the Centre in 1996, no one was willing to offer support and his government fell in 13 days.

“But Atalji did not lose hope and remained committed to serving the people. He showed the way when it came to coalition politics,” the Prime Minister said.

Pointing out that young Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, who dedicated his gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games to the late leader, he said that Vajpayee will remain an inspiration to the coming generations.

“Nobody can imagine that a person can be alive in people’s memories despite being away from public life. But the immense respect and tributes pouring on his demise show that Atalji still rules the people’s hearts though he was completely away from public life for 10 long years,” Modi said.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi along with his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi paid homage to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 74th birth anniversary on Monday.

They were accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra to the Veer Bhumi here, where many Congress veterans and leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also paid tributes at the Rajiv Gandhi Samadhi.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted his father was “a kind, gentle and affectionate man whose untimely death left a deep void in my life”.

“I remember the times we had together and the many birthdays we were lucky to celebrate with him when he was alive. He is greatly missed, but his memory lives on,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to Rajiv Gandhi. “Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv GandhiJi on his birth anniversary. We remember his efforts towards the nation.”

Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot also visited the former Prime Minister’s memorial and paid tributes.

All India Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Fondly remembering our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhiji on his birth anniversary”.

Born on this day in 1944, Rajiv Gandhi served as the seventh Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took to office after the 1984 assassination of his mother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

He was the youngest Prime Minister of India at 40. He was assassinated by a suicide bomber in 1991 in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur during an election campaigning.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away here at AIIMS on Thursday at age 93, was on Friday cremated with full military honours at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where people turned out in tens of thousands to pay their final tributes.

Vajpayee’s foster-daughter Namita lit the funeral pyre amidst the chanting of vedic hymns and firing of a 21-gun salute by soldiers.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a galaxy of political leaders cutting across party lines and foreign dignitaries joined the rest of the nation in bidding adieu to the departed leader at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, a designated spot for the last rites of Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers, on the banks of Yamuna river.

In keeping with the military honours, three service chiefs placed wreaths on the body of Vajpayee before leaders paid their floral tributes.

The tricolour that was wrapped around Vajpayee’s body was removed and given to his foster granddaughter Niharika after which the body was handed over to the family for last rites.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, veteran BJP leaders and Vajpayee’s long-time associates L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress President Rahul Gandhi were present at the funeral.

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai led foreign dignitaries including Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Sri Lanka’s Acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in paying homage.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Anand Sharma, Lok Sabha Deputy Speker M. Thambidurai, former Union Minister A. Raja, MDMK chief Vaiko and TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi were among who witnessed the performance of the last rites.

A few thousand people, some of whom chanted slogans hailing the late leader, thronged the Smriti Sthal as the last rites took place.

Earlier, tens of thousands of commoners joined Modi and BJP President Amit Shah in the final journey to bid adieu to Vajpayee as the former Prime Minister’s body was being taken to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

Vajpayee, who passed away at AIIMS on Thursday evening, had a pan-India appeal and his flair for foreign policy and initiatives were acknowledged globally.

The country observed a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect for the leader was decorated with Bharat Ratna and was very popular. The tricolour is flying half-staff.

Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu arrived in Pakistan on Friday to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan.

Sidhu reached Lahore via Wagah border and will arrive here for the oath-taking ceremony scheduled for Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Sidhu said: “I have come to Pakistan on my friend’s (Imran) invitation. These are very special moments.”

“Athletes and artists erase distances (between countries)… I have come here bearing the message of love, and prayers for Pakistanis,” he added.

“Hindustan jeevey, Pakistan jeevey!” Sidhu chanted as he welcomed the “change” in the country brought about by the advent of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.

Khan is expected be sworn in as Prime Minister on August 18 after his party swept the July 25 general elections.

Earlier this week, former Indian captain Kapil Dev said he will not be attending the oath-taking ceremony, citing “personal reasons”.

Dev was one of the three cricketers from India invited to attend Khan’s swearing-in ceremony, along with Sidhu and Sunil Gavaskar.

Gavaskar had also conveyed to Khan that he would not be able to attend the event due to prior work commitments.

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and his son and Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy paid their last respects to late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi on Friday, said an official.

“Gowda and Kumaraswamy flew to Delhi in a special aircraft earlier in the day and paid homage to the mortal remains of Vajpayee at the latter’s residence,” said a statement from the Chief Minister’s office in Bengaluru.

Vajpayee, 93, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday evening after prolonged illness.

Stating that Vajpayee was an “ajaata shatru” (one without an enemy), Kumaraswamy said the former Prime Minister was a politician who lived for the values he believed in.

State’s Bharatiya Janata Party President B.S. Yedyyurappa and central ministers from the southern state, Anantha Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda, also paid their last respects to Vajpayee at the party’s headquarters where his mortal remains were kept, a party official said.

Tens of thousands of commoners joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah in the final journey to bid adieu to Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the former Prime Minister’s body was being taken to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna river for the last rites.

The journey began around 2 p.m. — an hour behind schedule — from the BJP’s new central office on the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Modi and Shah walked behind the flower-decked gun carriage carrying the body of Vajpayee draped in the tricolour as security personnel kept a tight watch.

People from across the country, many of them teary-eyed, threw flower petals on the casket all through the three-kilometer route as an expression of their love, respect and admiration for the late leader.

Slogans like “Atalji amar rahen”, “Jab tak sooraj chand rahega, Atalji ka naam rahega”, “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram” rent the air as the procession progressed. Some people were carrying banners containing lines from poems written by Vajpayee.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also in the procession and supporters accompanying him raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. A number of BJP chief ministers including, Shivraj Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Union Ministers and BJP leaders accompanied the funeral procession.

It passed through some populated areas of Delhi, inclduing Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, on its way to Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, a designated spot for the last rites of Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Earlier, Modi, Shah, veteran BJP leader L. K. Advani, Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E. Palanisami were among the national leaders who paid tributes to Vajpayee at the party office after his body was brought there from his Krishna Menon Marg residence.

Before the body was taken from the residence, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, DMK Working President M.K. Stalin, MDMK chief Vaiko, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force placed wreaths and paid their last respects.

Modi, Shah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Yogi Adityanath received the body near the gate of the party office. They later paid their tributes by offering flowers.

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith were among those who paid their tributes at the party office.

Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Sri Lanka’s Acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali will attend the funeral.

The mortal remains were kept in front of a large smiling picture of Vajpayee. A party flag had been placed on each side of the photograph.

Among those present at the party office were union ministers, chief ministers, state ministers, MPs, MLAs and BJP office-bearers.

People had gathered outside the party office in large numbers since morning to pay their tributes. Security men had a hard time keeping the crowds in check. A woman from Darjeeling jumped the gate to get inside the party office.

As the casket reached the party office, people turned emotional and some of them had tears in their eyes.

Tight security arrangements had been made for the final procession by security forces anticipating participation of a large number of people.

Vajpayee, who had passed away at the AIIMS on Thursday evening, has a pan-India appeal and his flair for foreign policy and initiatives were acknowledged globally.

The country is observing a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect for the leader who had been decorated with Bharat Ratna and was very popular. The tricolour is flying half-staff.

Delhi Police on Friday said they have made elaborate security arrangements in the city in view of the final journey and funeral ceremony of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The founding member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who breathed his last at the All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday, will be laid to rest at the Smriti Sthal on the banks of the Yamuna.

“We have made elaborate security arrangements for the last rites and the procession ahead of it.

“We will ensure that people who come to pay their last respects and the commuters face minimum inconvenience,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said.