It was early morning of October 20, 2007, when the shocking news of demise of Jagdish Prasad Mathur flashed. This news perturbed everybody. The central BJP office was transformed into a silence zone and there was a beeline of senior political leaders cutting across party lines, senior RSS workers from different fields and party workers. A lot of mediapersons who were regular visitors to Mathurji at 9, Ashoka Road, New Delhi also gathered to pay tribute to the departed soul. His body was kept at the party office for several hours for the party members to pay homage to their departed leader. There was a steady stream of visitors.
Senior BJP leaders, led by party president Shri Rajnath Singh, leader of opposition Shri L.K. Advani, former vice president Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Shri Suresh Soni, RSS Sahsarkaryavah, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Shri Kalyan Singh, VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore, Shri Kidarnath Sahni, party general secretaries Shri Arun Jaitley and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and other senior leaders were present at the crematorium, besides hundreds of other BJP supporters. Former prime minister and senior BJP leader, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, who has not been keeping well, condoled Mathurji'sdeath in a message.
Mathurji, who was ailing for sometime, was hospitalised on October 8, 2007, and he breathed his last on October 20 at 5:00 am at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi. He was 86.
Mathurji joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1942 and became a pracharak in 1945. With the blessing of Shri Guruji, Mathurji worked with senior RSS leaders like Dattopant Thengadiji, Chamanlalji, Sunder Singh Bhandariji, and Kushabhau Thakreji and remained a bachelor all his life. He became member of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1952. He was office secretary of the central office of Jana Sangh for a long period. He also served as national secretary of Jana Sangh. He was permanent invitee to national executive of the Janata Party. Mathurji was also one of the founder members of the BJP and remained a member of the national executive of the party till the end. He also held the responsibility of BJP'snational secretary, national vice president and national spokesperson. He was closely associated with party workers while serving as incharge of the party affairs in north-eastern states, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. He was the Deputy Leader of BJP Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha in 1993. He left an indelible mark as a parliamentarian. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 1978 and again in April, 1990. He was the Chief Whip in 1990.
A social and political worker Mathurji participated in ?Quit India? Movement in 1942. He also participated in the Kashmir Movement in 1953 which was led by Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. When Emergency was imposed in the country he worked underground from June, 1975 to March, 1977. He handled foreign publicity and carried a prize over his head by the Delhi Police for arrest. He travelled to countries like United States of America, Britain, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore to perform his parliamentary duties. He went to China with Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003.
Speaking at a condolence meeting, organised by Bharatiya Janata Party at its central office in New Delhi on October 23, 2007, Shri L.K. Advani said if one wants to erase the ugly image of Indian politicians, one should follow in the footsteps of J.P. Mathurji, Sunder Singh Bhandariji and Chamanlalji. Mathurji is a true role model for the swayamsevaks, he added. ?His departure is an irreparable loss for BJP. Often we see that politicians are influenced by the media but his relations with the media were so cordial that even the media celebrated his birthday with him,? said Shri Advani. Stating that Chamanlalji and Mathurji had many similarities, he said that Mathurji was well-acquainted with karyakartas all over the country. Mathurji exploited his relations for the welfare and uplift of the party and karyakartas, and never for his personal gain, he added. ?I learnt from Mathurji and Chamanlalji to be helpful to others in life,? Shri Advani said.
Dr M.M. Joshi said Mathurji was committed to the ideology of the Sangh Parivar to the core and never compromised on it like today'spoliticians do for gaining self-interest. Dr Joshi suggested that we should carry out the life sketches of former pracharaks of RSS like Mathurji who had spread the party ideology to every nook and corner of the country. They (pracharaks) were truly devoted to the cause of party and the present generation should feel proud of them. Describing Mathurji as a multi-faceted and dynamic personality, chalking out almost every party programmes, Dr Joshi said that he learnt a lot from him including political behaviour.
In his condolence speech, Shri Suresh Soni said that Mathurji, despite holding many high posts in the party, was a true swayamsevak, committed to Sangh ideology. Mathurji lived a disciplined life and served the country till his death. He was devoted to the nationalist cause and dedicated his entire life in service to the nation and the party, Shri Soni said.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said that Mathurji had a clarity of thoughts on various issues confronting the party. Shri Shyam Jaju, office secretary, central BJP office, informed that Mathurji monitored till his last breath media reports, party website and newspaper reports related to party. He was a guiding force for us in every party matter, he added.
Among other prominent persons present at the condolence meeting were Shri Ramesh Prakash, Sanghachalak, Delhi, Shri Omkar Bhave of VHP, Shri Jagdish Mukhi, Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shri Bapu Apte, Shri O.P. Kohli and others.
