india

Updated: Dec 18, 2018 23:10 IST

A life-size portrait of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is set to be installed in the central hall of Parliament, after a panel headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday signed off on the plan.

At the meeting, attended by home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandopadhyay, and Biju Janata Dal’s Bhartruhari Mahtab fully supported the proposal. The portrait is expected to be unveiled during the ongoing winter session.

National icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, BR Ambedkar, Dadabhai Naoroji, Indira Gandhi, and Shyama Prasad Mookerjee have been immortalised by their portraits in the central hall.

Besides holding a joint sitting of two Houses, the central hall is generally used for many prestigious events. Top world leaders including US president Barack Obama have delivered speeches here. On a daily basis, MPs gather here during breaks in the sessions.

The last addition to the galaxy of portraits at the central hall was in 2003, when Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s portrait was added. Eminent painters such as S Roerich, NS Subhakrishna, Bikash Bhattacharjee and Chintamani Kar have painted some of the portraits.

Vajpayee, who passed away in August 2018 after a prolonged illness, was thrice prime minister and the first to lead a coalition government for a full term.