NEW DELHI: “Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a statesman known for a subtle sharpness that engages, attracts and brings many together.” The opening line of the Bharat Ratna citation could not have been truer of the elegant ceremony that saw leaders cutting across party lines coming together to greet the former Prime Minister, as the country’s topmost civilian honour was conferred on him.President Pranab Mukherkee broke protocol as he chose to go to Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg residence to give him the Bharat Ratna that included a medallion shaped like a ‘peepal’ leaf and a glowing citation. The Bharat Ratna ceremony is usually held at Rashtrapati Bhavan but since Vajpayee has been unwell and immobile for past few years, the President decided to make a departure from protocol.Vice-President Hamid Ansari , Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Cabinet ministers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Venkiah Naidu, BJP president Amit Shah and other senior party leaders were all in attendance.Modi said that it was a privilege to honour Vajpayee, whose “life was dedicated to the nation…He is an inspiration for me and others.” RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also flew in from Nagpur to attend the ceremony. Vajpayee never had an easy relationship with the Sangh during his tenure as PM. LK Advani and MM Joshi, who worked closely with Vajpayee to build the edifice of the party and who are now part of the ‘Margdarshak Mandal’, were warmly welcomed by Vajpayee’s foster family. Advani and his daughter Pratibha stayed on at Vajpayee’s residence till much after the 25-minute ceremony was over.Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Vasundhara Raje, Prakash Singh Badal and Chandrababu Naidu were also there. Former PM Manmohan Singh and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav also attended the simple function. An emotional Badal told ET that it was a completely different era of politics that Vajpayee represented. “They don’t make leaders like that anymore,” he said.The ceremony was marred by Congress president Sonia Gandhi not being invited. Senior BJP leaders said the function was organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan and it must have been an oversight at their end.Officials in the President’s office said that they received the list of invitees from the government. Sonia Gandhi, however, wrote a gracious letter to Vajpayee offering felicitations.“It is a fitting recognition of your statesmanship, wisdom and deep commitment to national interest during your prime ministership.