NEW DELHI: ‘Sadaiv Atal’, the memorial of Bharat Ratna and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be dedicated to the nation on December 25, his birth anniversary. The memorial has been completed by Centre Public Works Department (CPWD) at a total cost of Rs 10.51 crore. The entire cost of construction of the memorial has been borne by the Atal Smriti Nyas Society.
An official said a vacant piece of land was made available for the memorial at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Rs 100 commemorative coin in the memory of the former premier.
The coin weighs 35 gram and has the years 1924 and 2018 inscribed to mark years of Vajpayee’s birth and death. On the flipside, the coin has the Lion Capitol of the Ashoka Pillar with “Satyameva Jayate” inscribed.
“Atal ji wanted democracy to be supreme. He built the Jana Sangh. But when the time came to rescue our democracy, he and others went to the Janata Party. Likewise, when the choice was between remaining in power or comprising on ideology, he left Janata Party and formed the BJP,” Modi said.
Vajpayee had passed away on August 16.