Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 71st death anniversary. In a tweet, he wrote in Hindi that Mookerjee had dedicated his life to the country. Mookerjee's dynamic personality, Modi said, will continue to “inspire every generation”.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva, party MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and other leaders paid floral tributes in Delhi to the founder of the Jana Sangh, the BJP's predecessor.
Trivedi, Sachdeva and other leaders also planted saplings in Delhi to mark the leader's death anniversary.
Speaking on the occasion, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj told ANI, "Syama Prasad Mookerjee ji used to dream of a united India and therefore, PM Modi abrogated Article 370. The entire country thanks him (PM Modi) for this".
Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva was quoted by ANI as saying, "We pay tribute to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary…” He said Syama Prasad Mookerjee had sacrificed his life for the unity of India. Under the leadership of PM Modi, he added, the nation is “progressing towards development". "By abrogating article 370, PM Modi fulfilled the resolve of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee..."
Sudhanshu Trivedi said Mookerjee "sacrificed his life for the unity of India and formed the basis for the integrity of Kashmir...BJP never changes its stand on core ideological issues..."
In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and other BJP leaders also paid floral tributes to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
CM Yogi Adityanath said Mookerjee dreamt of a “United India”. After the implementation of the Constitution by the then Congress-led government, "an attempt was made to cause serious damage to national integrity by adding Article 370", he added.
“Keeping in mind these intentions of the then government, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who was serving the country as the Minister of Industry and Supply, left his post and started a massive movement for the prestige of the country, for the integrity of the country, to remove Article 370 from Kashmir. He had to sacrifice his life for the Kashmir Satyagraha campaign that he started with thousands of workers of Bharatiya Jana Sangh. The dream of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee is coming true today under the leadership of PM Modi, by abolishing Article 370 in Kashmir..."
Mookerjee was an Indian politician, barrister, and academician who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. At age 33, he became the youngest vice-chancellor of Calcutta University in 1934.