Bharatiya Janata Party's mayor of Aligarh, Shakuntala Bharti, declared former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as "no longer among us," ahead of his birthday on Sunday.
"Bharat ke purv pradhan mantri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji hamare beech me nahin rahe, lekin unki yadein hai," she told a stunned audience at a public event in the city, The Times of India reported today. (The former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is no longer among us, but his memory is there.)
BJP's veteran leader is 92-years-old.
"I don't know how it happened. If I have committed a mistake, I regret it. I have great respect for Vajpayee ji and wish him a long and healthy life," she later said.
Bharti has a history of making inaccurate as well communally divisive remarks. She has previously accused Aligarh Muslim University of serving beef in its canteen, and AMU officials of killing a cow and demolishing a temple.
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