LUCKNOW: As a grateful nation bid adieu to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh planned construction of memorials in honour of the late leader in at least four places in the state. The government is learnt to have identified Bateshwar in Agra, Vajpayee’s ancestral village; Balrampur, from where he took the plunge into electoral politics, winning his first Lok Sabha election in 1957; Kanpur, where he became a master of political science; and Lucknow, which he represented a record five times in the Lower House of Parliament, for constructing the memorials.
As per highly placed sources in the state government, the construction of the memorials has been mooted by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a tribute to the departed leader. However, a formal decision in this regard will be taken soon. The government also intends to immerse Vajpayee’s ashes in major rivers in all the 75 districts in the state.
“Atal ji was not just a leader but an ideology. He has left behind a very strong and healthy political legacy which we have to carry forward and transfer to coming generations. There is no one to match his stature and popularity. Constructing a memorial for Atal ji would be our tribute to him,” said a senior BJP leader.
Situated on the banks of Yamuna between Agra and Etawah, Bateshwar is a spiritual and cultural centre for Hindus, having a complex of 101 Shiv temples. The village also has a banyan tree under which, it is believed, Lord Shiva relaxed. It is learnt that inspired by the Quit India movement launched by Mahatama Gandhi, Vajpayee had hoisted a tricolour in Bateshwar in 1942.