Pranab Mukherjee condoles death of Vajpayee

New Delhi, Aug 16 : Former President of India Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday expressed his "deepest condolences" on the death of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Calling Vajpayee a "reasoned critique" and a "democrat", Mukherjee said in Twitter that India has lost a great son.

"Deeply saddened at the passing away of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A reasoned critique in opposition and a seeker of consensus as PM, Atal Ji was a democrat to the core. In his passing away, India has lost a great son and an era has come to an end. My deepest condolences," he wrote.

Vajpayee, a founder member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete a full term in office, died in Delhi on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 93.