Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released a book titled 'Atal Bihari Vajpayee' here in Parliament -- a commemorative volume on the former Prime Minister on his 96th birth anniversary.

Earlier in the day, Modi paid respects to Vajpayee through a tweet, saying "with his visionary leadership, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji took the country to unprecedented heights of development".

Modi said the efforts of the BJP leader to build a strong and prosperous India will always be remembered.

To mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which is celebrated as the Good Governance Day on December 25, Prime Minister Modi paid floral tributes and also released the book published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. On this occasion, as per the past practice, a floral tribute was organised at Vajpayee's portrait, which was unveiled on February 12 last year in the Central Hall of Parliament.

The book highlights the life and works of Vajpayee and contains notable speeches that were delivered by him in Parliament. It also contains some rare photographs from the BJP leader's public life.

Vajpayee, elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha and twice to the Rajya Sabha, was a parliamentarian par excellence, who had the trust, affection and belief of the people in his leadership.

As a parliamentarian and particularly as Prime Minister, Vajpayee made innumerable important contributions which paved the way for a stronger economy through bold reforms and rapid development of infrastructure that gave India the Golden Quadrilateral, a mega project connecting the country through world-class express highways.

Vajpayee also distinguished himself as a fine statesman and a world leader.

For exceptional service to the nation and performance of the highest order, Vajpayee was conferred with the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 2015. Before this he was also the recipient of the nation's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1992.

As a parliamentarian, Vajpayee was awarded with the Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for Best Parliamentarian in 1994, which defines him as "a role model par excellence for all legislators." Born on December 25, 1924 in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, Vajpayee took his last breath during treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on August 16, 2018.