Odisha Artist Sculpts ‘The Loving’ Vajpayee

Bhubaneswar: Noted painter Rabinarayan Rath has created a beautiful clay sculpture, reflecting the loving persona of former Prime Minister and iconic BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 94th birth anniversary.

“We have been celebrating every occasion, then why not the birth anniversary of such a loving person. I have no political affiliation. As an artist, I was drawn to his beautiful personality,” said the artist.

The 2.5 feet clay image of Vajpayee is a low-relief sculpture, he informed.

Rath wanted to draw a live portrait of the former Prime Minister, but could never get that opportunity. “As bad luck would have it, I could not manage a sitting with him,” he said.

Vajpayee breathed his last on August 16 after prolonged illness.

Meanwhile, Leaders, cutting cross party lines, paid tributes to the iconic leader, who is hailed as the ‘Titan of Democracy’, on Tuesday morning.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted:

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated Sadaiv Atal, a memorial of the former Prime Minister at Rashtriya SmritSthal, to the nation this morning.

The Assam bridge, the longest rail-cum-road in the country, at Bogibeel over the Brahmaputra river was also inaugurated by Modi in the afternoon to pay him homage.

Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone of the ambitious project on April 17, 2002, at the historic Chowkidinghee grounds along with then then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath have pledged to erect statue of the ‘tall’ leader in their state capitals, Patna and Lucknow respectively.

“A 21-metre tall statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed inside Lok Bhawan in Lucknow,” Adityanath was quoted as saying by ANI. Though Nitish did not offer details on the height and cost of the statue, he said a decision on its location will be taken soon.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also launched a free household power connection scheme for the poor in the state to mark his birth anniversary.

PM Modi had released a commemorative coin worth Rs 100 in his memory, the previous day.

Vajpayee’s birthday is also celebrated as Good Governance Day across the country since 2014 in his honour by fostering awareness among the people on accountability in Governance and Government.