Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrate after President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Bharat Ratna on party leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Lucknow.
Residents of Bateshwar, 70km from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, where former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spent his early childhood, were jubilant after he was presented the Bharat Ratna by President Pranab Mukherjee, and celebrated with sweets. Special ceremonies were also offered in the town, where a few of Vajpayee’s relatives and friends still reside. Vajpayee’s childhood friend Suraj Bhan Gupta, aged over 90, said Bateshwar has got a new identity and fame due to the former prime minister. Bateshwar is famous for its 101 Shiva temples. In Agra, Vajpayee’s sister Kamla Dixit also expressed her joy and happiness at the highest honour for her 90-year-old brother.