Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers and parliamentarians on Friday paid floral tributes to Madan Mohan Malaviya and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the Central Hall of Parliament on their birth anniversary.
Prime Minister Modi also released a book, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A Commemorative Volume", to mark the occasion.
Soon after the book release, as the prime minister 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.
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 Azad and Chowdhury, Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and LJP's Chirag Paswan were among other lawmakers present at the event.
The leaders first paid tributes to Malaviya and then to Vajpayee on their portraits in the Central Hall.
Born in 1861, Malaviya was a 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, Prime Minister Modi, in a tweet earlier in the day, lauded him as a multifaceted talent.
His contribution to the country will inspire the coming generations, the prime minister said.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was born in 1924, was a founder member of the Jana Sangh and then the BJP, a party which rose from the margins to rule India for the first time in 1990s with him being its main face.
His tenure is credited with ushering in a fresh wave of liberalisation, boosting growth and infrastructure.
Published 25 December 2020, 05:39 IST