Adityanath pays floral tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday paid floral tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 121st birth anniversary, saying he stood for the country’s unity and integrity.

State BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh also garlanded the photograph of the Jana Sangha leader at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Civil Hospital here.

Speaking on the occasion, Adityanath said, “Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a strong proponent of unity and integrity of India and he fought for this till his last breath. He also sacrificed his life for this cause.”

Adityanath said Mookerjee was a member of the country”s first cabinet and “parted ways from the cabinet and with the Congress-led government for its appeasement policies, started raising voice against those who were playing with the unity and integrity of the country”.

The UP chief minister said, “Today, Jammu and Kashmir is moving ahead with a new enthusiasm. This is due to the fulfilment of the dreams of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who sacrificed his life in 1953.”

UP ministers Brajesh Pathak, Ashutosh Tandon, BJP MLA Suresh Tiwari, senior state party leader Govind Narayan Shukla, Lucknow Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and others were present on this occasion, the Lucknow unit of the BJP said in a statement.

Mookerjee led a campaign against Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and died under detention in 1953.

He was born in Kolkata in 1901.

The Jana Sangh was the progenitor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was founded in 1980.