Agartala, March 28 (TIWN): Leaders of State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), welcomed the conferment of highest civilian honour “Bharat Ratna” on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

President Pranab Mukherjee personally visited the ailing leader, in a break from tradition, and conferred the award on him on Friday.

Expressing gratitude to Narendra Modi led Government at the Centre for its historic decision to confer the award on him, State BJP president Sudhindra Dasgupta  talking to TIWN  today said that the award is a fitting salutation to Vajpayee for his unique contribution to the growth of vibrant democracy in India and unflinching commitment to the cause of the people of India.

Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004, and has faded from public life due to age-related illness, is lauded as a statesman and has been often described as the moderate face of BJP. 
He has been credited with taking bold initiatives, notable among them being the historic bus journey to Lahore in 1999 when he signed the landmark Lahore Declaration with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with both sides pledging to push for peace and security.

Regarded as one of the most charismatic leaders, he was lauded as a statesman politician whose acceptability across the board broke barriers and brought BJP to centre stage of politics in the late 1990s after the demolition of Babri Masjid.