Late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee adopted his classmate's daughter
New Delhi: Atal Bihari Vajpayee who thrice served as the Prime Minister of India has passed away at the age of 93. He was admitted to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here in June with kidney tract infection and chest congestion and was on life support system. He is survived by his adopted daughter and granddaughter.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee had always remained a bachelor and never married. He had an adopted daughter named Namita Bhattacharya who is the daughter of Rajkumari Kaul, Vajpayee’s classmate at Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College) and his companion of many years. Namita is married to Ranjan Bhattacharya who also served as an Officer on Special Duty, while his father-in-law was the Prime Minister of India. The couple has one daughter Neharika.
The family association between the Kauls and Vajpayee dates back to his Gwalior days. After the death of Brij Narain Kaul, Rajkumari Kaul’s husband, Vajpayee became an integral and inseparable part of his household.
Vajpayee served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, until 2009 when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. One of the founding fathers of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, he was also the head of the organisation from 1968 to 1972. Vajpayee formed Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 when the Janata Party collapsed.
He was the first non-Congress prime minister to serve a full five-year term. The government of India conferred the nation’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on him in 2014. 25 December, his birthday was declared as Good Governance Day by the Narendra Modi government in 2014.
courtesy : timesnownews.com
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PM Modi speaks to Iranian president, discusses 'serious' situation in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone and discussed the "serious situation" in West Asia.
Modi expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure.
The prime minister told the Iranian President that the safety and security of Indian nationals, along with the need for unhindered transit of goods and energy, remain India's top priorities.
“Had a conversation with Iranian President, Dr Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the serious situation in the region. Expressed deep concern over the escalation of tensions and the loss of civilian lives as well as damage to civilian infrastructure,” Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister also reiterated India's commitment to peace and stability and urged dialogue and diplomacy to end the crisis.
The prime minister had spoken to leaders of several West Asian countries in the last 10 days in the wake of the coordinated offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, in which the Islamic country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed last month.
In retaliation, Iran has fired drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf region, including the global business and aviation hubs of Dubai and Doha.
Modi earlier spoke to the leaders of Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Israel and Qatar, and expressed concern over the attacks on their countries, and condemned the violation of some nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also discussed the welfare and security of the Indian community residing in those countries.
Around 1 crore Indians live in the Gulf and West Asia. While about 10,000 Indian citizens live, study and work in Iran, more than 40,000 live in Israel.
