Kolkata, July 6: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the abrogation of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi government fulfilled the long-standing vision of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is now an “integral part of India.”
Addressing a commemorative event marking the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Kolkata, Shah said Mookerjee had sacrificed his life while opposing the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir under the slogan, “Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan, do Nishan nahi chalenge” (One nation cannot have two constitutions, two prime ministers and two flags).
“Dr Mookerjee gave his life for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled his resolve by removing Article 370. Today, Jammu and Kashmir is an inseparable part of India,” Shah said.
The Home Minister also recalled Mookerjee’s opposition to the Nehru-Liaquat Pact, saying he had resigned from the first Union Cabinet because he believed the agreement failed to safeguard the interests of Hindus who had remained in Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
Shah said the Modi government had also fulfilled another of Mookerjee’s objectives by enacting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring countries.
“We have removed Article 370, granted citizenship to persecuted Hindu refugees through the CAA, and we will identify and remove every infiltrator from Indian soil to make the country more secure,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Shah announced that a 125-foot statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee would be installed in Kolkata, describing it as more than a memorial and calling it “the beginning of the resolve for Sonar Bangla.” He said a Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute dedicated to research on India’s national security would also be established alongside the statue.
Shah said Mookerjee’s vision of combining cultural nationalism with modern development was being realised under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.
“His belief was that the policies of independent India should reflect the fragrance of India’s own soil, not be influenced by Western thinking. Under Prime Minister Modi, that vision has begun to take concrete shape,” he said.
Referring to Mookerjee’s role in founding the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Shah said the organisation had grown into the Bharatiya Janata Party, which now governs a majority of India’s population and territory.
The Home Minister also praised the West Bengal government for declaring Mookerjee’s birth anniversary a public holiday and said the state had begun implementing several commitments, including welfare schemes, anti-corruption measures, women’s safety initiatives, and steps to identify illegal infiltrators.
Shah accused previous Communist and Trinamool Congress governments of pushing West Bengal backwards and expressed confidence that the current government would fulfil its electoral promises and lay the foundation for a “Sonar Bangla.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recorded message was also played during the event, which was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and other dignitaries.
