President confers Bharat Ratna on Vajpayee at his home

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was on Friday conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian honour, by President Pranab Mukherjee at a brief ceremony at his home.

The president, in a break from protocol, bestowed the honour on the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who is keeping poor health, at his Krishna Menon Marg residence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed thanks to the president for coming to Vajpayee's house and conferring the honour upon the nonagenarian leader.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced to the thronging media outside that the president had conferred the honour on Vajpayee. - IANS