LUCKNOW, July 7 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday paid tribute to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 125th birth anniversary, saying he played a pivotal role in saving West Bengal from the "bloody clutches of Pakistan". He hailed Mookerjee's contribution to national unity and described him as a great son of "Bharat Mata" and a "stalwart freedom fighter". "The very Bengal that Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee played a pivotal role in saving from the bloody clutches of Pakistan is today governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, a party that holds him as its guiding light. The 'double-engine' government in Bengal is currently working effectively to restore all sites associated with him," said Adityanath addressing a programme in Lucknow after paying floral tribute to Mookerjee's portrait at the Civil Hospital. The CM said Mookerjee's contribution to safeguarding the country's unity and opposing the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir would always be remembered. He said Mookerjee was arrested in Kashmir, where he died in 1953, and described him as having led the campaign against Article 370. He said Mookerjee resigned from the government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru over its alleged "appeasement policy" and later founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. "Dr Mookerjee sounded the clarion call against the Nehru government's 'policy of appeasement' regarding Article 370, which was challenging the unity and integrity of the nation. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP government fulfilled Dr. Mookerjee's dream by abrogating Article 370 in Kashmir in 2019, and the Constitution framed by Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was also effectively implemented in Kashmir," the CM said. Adityanath added: "When attempts were being made to make Bengal a part of Pakistan, Syama Prasad Mookerjee stood firmly against them. If present-day West Bengal is a part of India, then among the great leaders who dedicated themselves to the movement and raised their voice against those attempts, Dr Mookerjee's name can be taken prominently. As a minister in independent India, he gave priority to implementing the food policy and industrial policy." Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, state ministers Surya Pratap Shahi, Swatantra Dev Singh and Kapil Dev Agarwal, MLA Neeraj Bora, MLC Mukesh Sharma, former MLA Suresh Tiwari, BJP metropolitan president Anand Dwivedi and others were present during the programme....