Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Ministers and parliamentarians on December 25 paid floral tributes to Madan Mohan Malaviya and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Central Hall of the Parliament on their birth anniversary.
Mr. Modi released a book, Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A Commemorative Volume , to mark the occasion.
Soon after the book release, as Mr. Modi was about to leave the venue, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members Sanjay Singh and Bhagwant Mann raised slogans demanding repeal of the three new central farm laws. Mr. Modi was speaking with Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury at that moment.
Besides Mr. Azad and Mr. Chowdhury, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and LJP''s Chirag Paswan were among other lawmakers present at the event.
Born in 1861, Malaviya was former president of the Congress who later founded the Hindu Mahasabha. He was also one of the founders of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
Noting that Malaviya was an inspiration behind BHU, Mr. Modi, in a tweet, called him a multifaceted talent. His contribution to the country will inspire the coming generations, the he said.
Vajpayee, born in 1924, was founder-member of the Jan Sangh and then the BJP, a party which rose from the margins to rule India for the first time in the 1990s, with him being its main face. His tenure is credited with ushering in a fresh wave of liberalisation, boosting growth and infrastructure.
