The birthday of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today will bring cheer to 93 prisoners as the Yogi Adityanath government has decided to set them free.
Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in an order issued in Lucknow:
He directed the prisons department to ensure the fine is paid by NGOs, trusts and others, after verifying their credentials.
Vajpayee had represented Lucknow in the Lok Sabha five times – 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.
His legacy was taken forward by BJP leaders Lalji Tondon and Rajnath Singh, who won Lok Sabha elections in 2009 and 2014.
"Vajpayee is the first and the only non-Congress leader who completed his full term as prime minister. He means a lot not only in Lucknow seat which he served but for the entire state and in his regime a number of historic schemes were launched," UP BJP spokesman Shalabh Mani Tripathi said.
On the government decision to set the prisoners free, the BJP leader said, "It is a good decision and based on humanitarian approach. Releasing those who served their sentence by ensuring payment of their fine is a welcome step and shows the people-friendly approach of our government".
He was also the first External Affairs Minister to deliver a speech in Hindi in the UN Assembly in New York.
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