Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 6 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday paid tributes to eminent nationalist thinker and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary.
According to Gujarat CMO, CM Bhupendra Patel offered floral tributes before the oil painting of Late Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly podium.
In a post on X, CM expressed his gratitude to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, stating that he fought till his last breath for the complete integration of Kashmir and equal rights for every citizen.
CM further said that Dr Mookerjee's vision of ending the system of "one nation with two constitutions, two Prime Ministers, and two flags" has been realised under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He added that Dr Mookerjee's ideals and his spirit of putting the nation first will continue to inspire patriotism and devotion to the motherland.
On the occasion, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Purnesh Modi, Whip Balkrishna Shukla, MLAs Rita Patel and Alpesh Thakor, and Gandhinagar Mayor Mira Patel, City BJP President Ashish Dave, Deputy Mayor, office-bearers of the Municipal Corporation, Legislative Assembly Secretary Pandya, and other senior officials were present.
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on October 21, 1951, the ideological predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Born on July 6, 1901, in Calcutta, he was an educationist, parliamentarian, statesman and humanitarian. He inherited a legacy of scholarship and nationalism from his father, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, who served as the Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and as a judge of the Calcutta High Court.
In 1940, Dr Mookerjee became the acting president of the Hindu Mahasabha and declared complete independence for India as its political goal. He later served as Minister for Industry and Supply in Jawaharlal Nehru's Interim Government before resigning. He also left the Hindu Mahasabha in the year Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
The BJP observes Dr Mookerjee's death anniversary on June 23 as 'Balidan Diwas' to commemorate his death in Kashmir in 1953. (ANI)
