Seven day mourning declared as India loses 'Atal Ratna', several states declare public holiday marking respect to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

New Delhi, August 17: With India losing a great leader and Bharatiya Janata Party losing its Bhishma Pitamah, million teary eyes vow to stand by what Atalji Bihari Vajpayee pitched for ‘New Bharat’. Penning several poems and a great orator, the former Prime Minister won million hearts with his aura and presence with everyone.

As a tribute to the people’s Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, several states declared a public holiday on Friday. Centre government on Thursday declared a seven-day mourning and public holiday for August 17 as a mark of respect to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The National Flag will be flown at half-mast till August 22, 2018, as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

 

Many states including Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Odisha have announced a public holiday for Friday as a mark of respect to the former prime minister who was considered one of the country's most respected politicians.

All Punjab offices, boards, corporation and educational institutions will remain closed as a mark of respect to Vajpayee. The Punjab government declared a three-day mourning starting from Friday. Jharkhand government declared seven-day mourning in Vajpayee's memory.

Seven-day state mourning and a public holiday on Friday has been declared by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar government. All schools in Bihar will be shut.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also declared a public holiday for August 17. A similar announcement was made by Odisha government ordering government offices, schools and colleges to remain shut across the country.

In a departure from the standard protocol, the union cabinet also decided to close government offices in the national capital on Friday afternoon. An official said it had been decided to give half-day holiday on Friday afternoon, the day of the funeral.

According to the standard home ministry protocol, a holiday is only announced on the death of a sitting Prime Minister or President.