UP: Security tightened ahead of PM Modi's visit to unveil Vajpayee's statue

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to unveil former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statue on his birth anniversary later today.

"We have made special security arrangements. The city has been sectored into four parts and security personnel have been deputed there. The officers are not only patrolling but are keeping a hawk-eye on any untoward movement," said Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh.

Paramilitary Forces, Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Quick Response Team (QRT) are on foot and intelligence agencies have been geared up to take care of Prime Minister Modi's security, Singh said.

PM Modi will arrive in Lucknow at 3 pm following which he will unveil Vajpayee's bronze statue outside the Lok Bhawan. Subsequently, he will also lay the foundation stone for a proposed Atal Bihari Medical University.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandi Bien Patel will be attending the event along with other state ministers and leaders. The venue has been sanitised with the help of a sniffer dog and bomb detectors.

The event coincides with the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the co-founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Earlier in the day, Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and other BJP leaders paid floral tributes to Vajpayee at the 'Sadaiv Atal' memorial in the national capital.

Born on December 25, 1924, in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, Vajpayee was the first-ever person from the BJP to become the Prime Minister. He served as Prime Minister thrice -- briefly in 1996, from 1998 to 1999 and then for a full five-year term between 1999 and 2004.

Apart from politics, Vajpayee was a prominent writer and has penned a number of poems. After resigning as the prime minister in 2004, the BJP stalwart retired from active politics owing to his feeble health.

The veteran BJP leader passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi after a prolonged illness. December 25 is celebrated as 'Good Governance Day' in honour of Vajpayee.