New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) The government Wednesday named former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and late freedom fighter-educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya for India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said: "The president has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) and to Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

The announcement comes a day ahead of Vajpayee's 90th birthday and coincidentally Malaviya's 153rd birth anniversary on Christmas. The Narendra Modi government is observing Dec 25 as Good Governance Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the announcement. The Congress also welcomed it.

"Bharat Ratna being conferred on Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a matter of great delight. The country's highest honour to these illustrious stalwarts is a fitting recognition of their service to the nation," the prime minister said in a statement.

The honour for Gwalior-born Vajpayee, who was the country's prime minister first in 1996 and then again from 1998 to 2004, came after years of demands from people across party affiliations and the public at large.

The announcement came in the first year of the Modi government.

Modi, during his Lok Sabha campaign, had promised Bharat Ratna for Malviya, founder of the Banaras Hindu University.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including party veteran L.K. Advani, had been demanding Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee for several years. Advani had even written about the matter to then prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Vajpayee will be the seventh prime minister to receive the award, after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Gulzarilal Nanda.

Modi also tweeted his happiness: "Atal ji means so much to everyone. A guide, inspiration & giant among giants. His contribution to India is invaluable."

Modi also posted an image of himself with Vajpayee on his Twitter account.

He also said Malaviya was remembered as a phenomenal scholar and freedom fighter who lit the spark of national consciousness among people.

The Congress welcomed the announcement. Party general secretary Ajay Maken tweeted a congratulatory message after the announcement was made.

"We welcome the conferring of Bharat Ratna on Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We congratulate," Maken said.

The BJP parliamentary board passed a resolution expressing its "deep sense of gratitude" towards the government "for its historic decision" on the conferment.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted: "Nation is proud today as Shri Atal ji & Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya ji are conferred Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour."

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the conferment of Bharat Ratna on Malaviya and Vajpayee, "besides being welcome, is also significant as it awards those who attach immense significance to human values and also lead their lives by those values".

Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and Jaitley met Vajpayee at his residence after the government announcement. Vajpayee has not been keeping well for the past few years.

Advani said that among all the 14 prime ministers since independence, Vajpayee was one with a "blemishless tenure".

Vajpayee had re-started the Bharatiya Jan Sangh as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 and was the first head of government from outside the Congress to serve a full five-year term.

He served the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, for 10 terms that began in 1957 and concluded in 2009.

An orator par excellence, Vajpayee earned much fame as India's external affairs minister in Prime Minister Morarji Desai's government, during which he delivered a widely acclaimed speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.

The Allahabad-born Malaviya was the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms and was also among the first leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha.

Besides being a freedom fighter and politician, he was also an eminent educationist.

The Banaras Hindu University was founded by him in 1916. He died a year before India's independence.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Prime Minister Modi had requested President Pranab Mukherjee to confer the award on the two leaders and he agreed happily.

"I congratulate all people of the country," Rajnath Singh told reporters here.

Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsh Vardhan and Prakash Javedkar also expressed happiness over the government's decision.