Jammu, Jun 23: Terming the BJP ideologue Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as one of the tallest leaders of his time, senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi today said he sacrificed his life for full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.
Joshi was speaking at a function here to commemorate the ‘Balidaan Divas' (death anniversary) of Mookherjee.
“Dr Mookherjee sacrificed his life while agitating to end the permit system under which any one leaving or entering the state had to obtain a permit, a practise which did not exist in any other state of the country,” Joshi said.
Mookherjee died on June 23, 1975, in Kashmir.
“This is a very auspicious day for the party activists of the state. Today is the death anniversary of Mukherjee. He was tallest leader of his times,” Joshi said.
State party president Shamsher Singh Manhas, national executive members Nirmal Singh and MLA Ashok Khajuria were present on the occasion.
National interest and full integration of J-K with rest of the country was Mukherjee's top agenda, said the former Union HRD minister.
“He never compromised on principles and questioned the provision of separate symbols for this state,” he said.
Manhas said persons like Mookherjee are very rare and their life serves a source of inspiration for generations to come.
