Portrait of Vajpayee to be unveiled in Parliament

A life-size portrait of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee will be unveiled in Parliament's Central Hall during the ongoing Winter Session.

The decision to unveil the former Prime Minister's portrait was taken unanimously at a meeting of Parliamentary Committee on the installation of portraits/statues of national leaders and Parliamentarians in Parliament House complex chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

The proposal for a 7ft X 4ft portrait was mooted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Deputy Speaker Thambi Durai and members including Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress) and Sudip Bandhopadhyay (Trinamool Congress) did not oppose the proposal. Bandhopadhyay was quoted by sources as saying, "if not Vajpayee's, whose portrait can be there."

Vajpayee, whose birth anniversary falls on December 25, breathed his last on August 16 this year.

While the Central Hall still does not have portraits of former Prime Ministers V P Singh and Chandrasekar, sources sought to downplay the rush to unveil Vajpayee's portrait, saying he is a Bharat Ratna and three-term Prime Minister.

The ruling BJP has sought to keep the former prime minister's legacy alive through a series of programmes soon after his death. His ashes were immersed in 100 holy rivers, including seven in Karnataka.

The BJP also organised nationwide 'Kavi Sammelan' and a 'Seva Saptah' (Week of Service) where party workers will storm slums in 20,000 locations with cleanliness drive and medical camps in September.