Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday paid tributes to erstwhile premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, ex-Rajya Sabha member PK Maheshwari and other departed souls prior to adjourning for the day.

As soon as proceedings commenced, Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati made obituary references to Mr Vajpayee, Mr Chatterjee, Mr Maheshwari, former members Indrajeet Kumar Patel, Devi Singh Patel, Ramanand Singh, Dayal Singh Tumrachi, Jugal Kishore Bajaj, Swami Prasad Lodhi, Prabhunarayan Tripathi, Vimal Kumar Chordia, Anand Kumar Shrivastav, Radhakrishna Bhagat and Kalpana Parulekar.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava, erstwhile chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others recalled the personages’ contribution to the political and social spheres. Describing Mr Vajpayee as a towering trailblazer, Mr Nath shared his experiences with the former. He lauded Mr Maheshwari’s inputs in the Fourth Estate and categorised him as a scholar. A brief silence was observed and the adjournment followed.