Mookerjee’s dream incomplete, says Jugal Kishore

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 6

For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, a statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee was unveiled at the BJP’s new office here today. He founded the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951, which later evolved into the BJP.

The statue was unveiled on the 114th birth anniversary of Mookerjee. His efforts had resulted in an end to the permit system in Jammu and Kashmir. He died under mysterious circumstances in the Kashmir valley on June 23, 1953.

State BJP president and Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, national BJP secretary Farooq Khan, former Union Minister of State Chaman Lal Gupta, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Trust chairman and MLC Ashok Khajuria, state BJP general secretary Ashok Kaul, state Cabinet minister Chander Prakash Ganga and Gandhi Nagar MLA Kavinder Gupta garlanded Mookerjee’s statue.

Mookerjee had opposed the decision to grant special status to Kashmir with its own flag and Prime Minister. No one could enter Kashmir without the permission of the Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister.

Mookerjee gave the slogan “Ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahi chalenge (a single country cannot have two constitutions, two Prime Ministers and two national emblems). It was because of his efforts that the permit system came to an end in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking on the occasion, Jugal Kishore Sharma said the people of the state had got rid of the permit system due to Mookerjee’s sacrifice. “The dream of Mookerjee is still incomplete and each one of us has to work towards achieving it,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said it was a day of pledge for every nationalist leader and a day to remember martyrs of Hiranagar, Ramban, Chhamb and Sunderbani, who had laid down their lives while fighting the provision of separate symbols.

“We need to remember Premnath Dogra on this occasion, whose contribution in mobilising the public for the historic agitation of 1953 was splendid,” he said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India and no force would be allowed to create any hurdle in its ties with the rest of the country.

Farooq Khan said he had been associated with the Jan Sangh ever since he was a student. He said he was impressed by the nation-centric approach and ideology of Mookerjee and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya which would continue to inspire others.

Ashok Kaul announced that a statue of Pandit Premnath Dogra would be installed in the party’s new office complex at Trikuta Nagar after its completion.