Several states declare public holiday on Friday as mark of respect to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh were among the states to declare a public holiday and state mourning.

Image Courtesy: PTI

Several states declared a public holiday on Friday on account of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death. Centre government on Thursday declared a seven-day mourning and public holiday for August 17 as a mark of respect to Vajpayee. The National Flag will be flown at half-mast till August 22, 2018, as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, BJP President Amit Shah, Congress President Rahul Gandhi were among many leaders who mourned over the death of a great leader and a statesman. 

Manish Sisodia declared that all Delhi government offices, schools and other institutions will be closed on Friday. 

According to news agency ANI, all Punjab offices, boards, corporation and educational institutions will remain closed as a mark of respect to Vajpayee. 

The Punjab government declared a three-day mourning starting from Friday. Jharkhand government declared a seven-day mourning in Vajpayee's memory. 

Seven-day state mourning and a public holiday on Friday has been declared by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar government. All schools in Bihar will be shut.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also declared a public holiday for August 17. A similar announcement was made by Odisha government ordering government offices, schools and colleges to remain shut across the country. 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on Thursday evening after a prolonged illness at New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).