Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the lead on Sunday in paying tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary, describing his contribution to the nation as “invaluable.”
“His contribution to our nation is invaluable. If there was something that mattered most to Dr. Mookerjee it was serving the people. He always spoke about education for the youth. Let us devote ourselves to fulfilling Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s ideals,” Mr. Modi later said in a tweet.
Tributes to our inspiration, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary. His contribution to our Nation is invaluable.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >July 6, 2014
The Prime Minister along with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien and BJP patriarch L.K. Advani paid floral tributes to the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the BJP, at the Central Hall in Parliament House.
Several Ministers, including Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Kalraj Mishra, Jitendra Singh and Manoj Sinha also paid tributes to Dr. Mookerjee. A booklet containing the profile of Dr. Mookerjee, brought out by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in Hindi and English, was also presented to the dignitaries who attended the function.
Dr. Mookerjee’s portrait was unveiled in the Central Hall by the then President R. Venkataraman, on May 31, 1991, in recognition of his outstanding services to the nation.
