Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday hailed Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee's views on Swadeshi, highlighting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has carried forward that vision through unprecedented efforts in indigenous manufacturing.
Delivering a speech as part of the Bharat Kesari Syama Prasad Mookerjee Memorial Fortnight being observed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from June 23 to July 6, Trivedi said that due to PM Modi's stress on indigenous manufacturing, India has today emerged as the world's second-largest mobile manufacturing nation.
He added that the BJP's commitment to its ideological legacy is evident from the fact that it continues to commemorate Dr. Mookerjee's birth anniversary, while the Congress questions such observances and, according to him, does not even celebrate the birth anniversary of its own party founder because he was British.
The memorial seminar in the Outer Delhi district was addressed by Delhi BJP President Harsh Malhotra in the presence of MP Yogendra Chandolia, MLAs Raj Kumar Chauhan, Manoj Shokeen, and Gajendra Daral, State Vice President Vinay Rawat, and District President Vikram Gupta.
The New Delhi district seminar was addressed by Sudhanshu Trivedi and MP Bansuri Swaraj in the presence of Delhi Jal Board Vice Chairman Satish Upadhyay, MLAs Neeraj Basoya and Anil Sharma, and District President Ravindra Chaudhary.
Addressing the gathering, Malhotra said that Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a distinguished champion of Indian nationalism. "He (Syama Prasad Mookerjee) was the son of the eminent educationist Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee and became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta at the age of just 33."
The Delhi BJP President said: "Nationalism was the guiding principle of Dr. Mookerjee's life. He believed that India's identity rested on its cultural unity, one Constitution, and one national flag. Mookerjee became Independent India's first Minister for Industry and Supply in 1947 but resigned from the Cabinet in 1950 rather than compromise on his principles."
Malhotra added that Mookerjee's greatest struggle was for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. He strongly opposed the concept of "two Constitutions, two Prime Ministers, and two flags in one nation", considering Article 370 an obstacle to national unity.
"In 1953, he (syama Prasad Mookerjee) entered Jammu and Kashmir without a permit to protest the permit system, was arrested, and passed away in detention in Srinagar on June 23, 1953." Malhotra said that Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951, which laid the ideological foundation of today's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mookerjee's nationalism, the Delhi BJP President added, was not narrow or exclusionary but rooted in cultural pride, educational advancement, and national integrity. Malhotra said that Dr. Mookerjee continues to be remembered as the leader who placed the nation above power and sacrificed his life to uphold the vision of "One Nation, One Constitution".
Addressing the seminar in the New Delhi district, Sudhanshu Trivedi recalled that Dr. Mookerjee had strongly opposed the Nehru-Liaquat Pact, warning that it would fail to protect Hindus in Pakistan and might instead facilitate further persecution.
He said subsequent events validated those concerns, citing the hardships faced by Hindus in Pakistan and Kashmir. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to correct the historical mistakes of Partition by enacting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019.
Trivedi said: "When Vande Mataram was sung in the past, certain sections of the Congress objected to it, resulting in portions of the song being omitted. Today, however, Indians proudly sing the complete song once again." He remarked that while political ideologies may divide a nation, its cultural consciousness remains indivisible.
He added that Mookerjee had believed India's freedom in 1947 remained incomplete because Indians required a permit to enter Jammu and Kashmir. According to Trivedi, that unfinished task was completed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.