Union Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda paid floral tributes to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, recalling his role in opposing Article 370 and advocating for national integration.
Dr Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh—the ideological precursor to the BJP—was a vocal opponent of the special constitutional status granted to Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking at the tribute event, Nadda said, “Due to ideological differences and the appeasement policies of Prime Minister Nehru, Dr Mookerjee resigned from the cabinet and later founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He opposed the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir.”
Highlighting the suspicious circumstances surrounding Mookerjee’s death in Srinagar jail in 1953, Nadda said that despite repeated demands from Mookerjee’s family and party leaders, no official inquiry was conducted. “His mother wrote a letter to Nehru seeking an inquiry, but her plea was ignored,” he added.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also paid tribute at a separate event, calling Mookerjee the “lion” who gave the clarion call of “Ek Vidhan, Ek Samvidhan” (One Constitution, One Law). She praised his unrelenting fight for national unity and criticised earlier governments for prioritising political gains over national integrity.
“Even after independence, if there was anyone who championed the cause of a united India, it was Syama Prasad Mookerjee,” Gupta said, adding that he opposed the concept of a separate constitution for Kashmir and famously asserted, “Ye Kashmir Hamara Hai”.
Mookerjee, who also served as Industry and Supply Minister in Nehru’s cabinet, resigned over the controversial Delhi Pact with Liaquat Ali Khan in 1950. He later founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 and led the movement against Article 370. He was arrested during a visit to Kashmir on May 11, 1953, and died in custody on June 23, 1953.