PM Modi remembers Syama Prasad Mookerjee on death anniversary, slams Cong

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that to glorify one family, deliberate attempts were being made to belittle the contribution of other towering leaders in nation-building, as he paid rich tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

In a veiled attack on the Congress, he said it was spreading "lies, confusion and pessimism" and was cut off from the ground reality.

"It is unfortunate for the country that just to eulogise one family, the contribution of others was forgotten," Modi said at a function after launching the Mohanpura Irrigation Project in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.

He said the party which ruled the country for maximum years never trusted the people and their hard work.

"In the last four years, we never spoke of frustration and dismay. We are the ones who are marching ahead with confidence," he said, adding that people believed in the BJP and its government, which was working for their welfare.

Modi said in the last four years at the Centre and 13 years in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP had worked for the uplift and empowerment of poor, farmers and deprived sections of society.

He said when the Congress ruled the state, Madhya Pradesh was called a BIMARU state.

"The Congress never saw this as an insult to the people of the state. The BJP had worked hard to remove this tag," he added.

Recalling Mookerjee's contribution to the country, Modi said, "His vision inspires us even today and helps us come out of despondency."

As independent India's first industries and supplies minister (in the Jawaharlal Nehru cabinet), he framed the nation's maiden industrial policy, the prime minister said.

Mookerjee believed that the government should fulfil the dreams of its people and improve the life of the poor, Modi said.

His thoughts and actions for the country's industrial policy, things he had done in the areas of education, women empowerment and nuclear policy were far ahead of his times and they are still relevant, the prime minister said.

Education, finance, development, health and national security were his main focus areas, Modi said.

"His vision was to impart skills to the youth and give them opportunity so that they become capable of serving the country. Programmes like Startup, Make in India are a reflection of his ideas," he said.

"It is a coincidence that today is the death anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. On June 23, Mookerjee died in a suspicious manner in Kashmir. I remember him on this occasion," Modi said.

The BJP, the successor party of the BJS, observes June 23 as 'Balidan Diwas'.