Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 23, paid tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary stating that his invaluable contribution to nation building will always be remembered with reverence.
“Tributes to Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on his Balidan Diwas. He displayed incomparable courage and effort to keep the integrity of the country intact. His invaluable contribution to nation building will always be remembered with reverence,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
डॉ. श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी को उनके बलिदान दिवस पर कोटि-कोटि नमन। उन्होंने देश की अखंडता को अक्षुण्ण रखने के लिए अतुलनीय साहस और पुरुषार्थ का परिचय दिया। राष्ट्र निर्माण में उनका अमूल्य योगदान हमेशा श्रद्धापूर्वक याद किया जाएगा।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 23, 2025
Notably, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also paid her tributes at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee park in New Delhi. Lauding Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s efforts she said that the Jana Sangh founder roared like a lion and gave the slogan of ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Samvidhan’.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP MPs from Delhi, Delhi assembly speaker Vijendra Gupta and other senior members of the Bhartiya Janata Party accompanied her. The Delhi CM asserted that Dr Mookerjee pioneered India’s fight for its integrity even after independence. She mentioned that Syama Prasad Mookerjee gave the slogan “Ye Kashmir Hamara Hai” and didn’t favour the concept of its separate constitution.
“The person who started the fight for the unity and integrity of the nation. There was a time when lakhs of freedom fighters lost their lives and struggled for life to make India independent. Even after India became independent, if there was any pioneer in the fight for the country’s integrity, then it was Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The one who roared like a lion and said that there will only be ‘Ek Vidhan, Ek Samvidhan’ in one country, ‘Do Vidhan Do Samvidhan’ will not work”, the Delhi CM said while addressing the event.
आज दिल्ली के डॉ. श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी पार्क में अपने सभी सहयोगी मंत्रीगण, सांसदगण, विधायकगण एवं समर्पित कार्यकर्ता साथियों के साथ डॉ. श्यामा प्रसाद मुखर्जी जी की प्रतिमा पर पुष्पांजलि अर्पित कर उनके बलिदानी जीवन का स्मरण किया। इस अवसर पर मुख्य अतिथि के रूप में केंद्रीय शिक्षा… pic.twitter.com/2aUXJ77rLI
— Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) June 23, 2025
The Delhi CM hit out at the previous governments and accused them of not paying attention to India’s integrity and sovereignty. He highlighted that India was never a priority for them. Hailing the sacrifice of Dr Mookerjee, Rekha Gupta mentioned that he resigned from the government of independent India as it was not working towards the country’s progress.
“The one who gave the slogan ‘Ye Kashmir Hamara hai’ and the then governments never paid attention to it. The then governments always asked to divide the country, sometimes made it Pakistan-Bangladesh, sometimes separated Kashmir from us. In their thinking and destiny, only their rule should remain safe; the country was never a priority for them. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, a minister in the government of independent India, resigned from the post of minister only because that government did not think about the country’s progress”, the Delhi CM added.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological parent organisation of the BJP.
Born on July 6 1901 in Calcutta, was a multifaceted personality – patriot, educationist, parliamentarian, statesman, and humanitarian. He inherited a legacy of erudition and nationalism from his father, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, an esteemed Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and Judge of the Calcutta High Court.
This upbringing instilled in him a deep respect for India’s cultural heritage and a keen interest in modern scientific thought. Mookerjee’s academic brilliance was evident from an early age. After excelling at the Presidency College, he earned degrees in law and literature, including a D.Litt. and LL.D.
His tenure as the youngest Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University (1934) allowed him to implement his progressive vision for education. He played a pivotal role in promoting Indian languages and fostering intellectual growth, inviting luminaries like Rabindranath Tagore to inspire students. He later joined the Hindu Mahasabha and, in 1937, united non-Congress forces to form a Progressive Coalition government under the leadership of Fazal-ul-Haq, with himself as the Finance Minister. In 1940, he became the acting President of the Hindu Mahasabha and declared complete independence for India as its political goal.
Mookerjee resigned from the Bengal Cabinet in November 1942, protesting against the Governor’s interference in administration and criticising provincial autonomy as ineffective. His humanitarian efforts during the Bengal famine of 1943, including relief initiatives, highlighted his commitment to serving society.
Post-Independence, he joined the interim government under Jawaharlal Nehru as Minister for Industry and Supply, where he laid the foundation for India’s industrial growth by establishing iconic institutions like the Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Sindri Fertilizer Corporation and the Hindustan. However, ideological differences led to his resignation, after which he founded the All-India Bharatiya Jan Sangh (1951) to champion nationalist ideals.
According to the BJP’s official website, on the issue of the Delhi pact with Likayat 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.
(with inputs from ANI)
