"We all have pledged to realise Atal ji's dream": Keshav Prasad Maurya

"I pay tribute to Bharat Ratna former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth centenary year. Today is being celebrated as Good Governance Day. We all have pledged to realise Atal ji's dream," Keshav Prasad Maurya told ANI.

He also paid tribute to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya on his birth anniversary.

"Today is also the birth anniversary of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya; we pay tribute to him and will work to carry forward his ideas and principles," he added.

Good Governance Day is observed in India annually on December 25, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow.

Addressing the public, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee's governance was appreciated by people from all over the world.

"Atal Bihari Vajpayee's governance was appreciated all over the world... his good governance has brought the country to where it is today and he showed us how we can achieve good governance. The government of America has also said that if one wants to see good governance, they should come to India. Be it Atal's government or Narendra Modi's government, we have achieved good governance today. Singh said while addressing the media.

Further, he said that governance could only be claimed good when it could fulfil the body, mind, money and soul.

Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, and was elected three times as the nation's prime minister.

Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India from May 16, 1996, to June 1, 1996, and again from March 19, 1998, to May 22, 2004. He also served as India's external affairs Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Moraji Desai from 1977 to 1979. He passed away at AIIMS Hospital in Delhi on August 16 2018. (ANI)