Syama Prasad Mookerjee birth anniversary: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ideologue Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 123rd birth anniversary today (July 6). Modi said Mookerjee made India proud with his fierce nationalistic ideas, and that his sacrifice and dedication to the motherland will always inspire people.
Mookerjee was one of the founders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner and the ideological parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was a member of Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet, which he quit in protest over his differences with the prime minister and then formed the Jana Sangh with support from the RSS.
He also served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. Mookerjee died in 1953 following his arrest in Jammu and Kashmir during his agitation against the restriction imposed there on Indian citizens who were not from the state. He was opposed to the special status given to the state.
Modi had described his government's decision to revoke Article 370, which granted the state special rights, in 2019 as a fulfilment of Mookerjee's wish.
According to the BJP's official website, on the issue of the Delhi pact with Liaquat Ali Khan, Mookerjee resigned from the Cabinet on April 6, 1950. Later on October 21, 1951, Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in Delhi and became its first president. Mookerjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 and was arrested on May 11. He died under detention on June 23, 1953.
'Every Indian indebted to Syama Prasad Mookerjee': Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid tribute to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary. The minister said every Indian is indebted to Mookerjee for "his unique efforts for the integrity of the country."
"I remember and pay my tribute to the eminent nationalist thinker Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary. Whenever there is talk of fighting for the unity and integrity of the country, Dr. Mukherjee will definitely be remembered," Shah said in a post on X.
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