LUCKNOW/PRAYARGAJ, 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 CM 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. The CM also unveiled the statues of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee and veteran VHP leader Ashok Singhal at Prerna Sthal in Prayagraj, describing them as three great personalities whose lives were dedicated to nationalism, good governance and Sanatan values. Addressing a public gathering later, he said the "blooming of the lotus" in West Bengal was not merely about the BJP forming a government, but symbolised good governance, prosperity and security for women and girls in the state. Highlighting the legacy of former PM AB Vajpayee, the CM said Vajpayee established a model of political stability, integrity and national service during his six-decade-long blemishless public life. Paying homage to Ashok Singhal, he described the VHP leader as a qualified engineering graduate from BHU who dedicated his life to the cause of Lord Ram and contributed his ancestral property for the welfare of the poor and tribal communities. The CM said after the struggle for independence, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of the 1980s and 1990s was the largest mass movement witnessed by the country. "Every Hindu contributed in some way to the construction of the Ram Temple," he said. Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, cabinet ministers Nand Gopal Gupta and Swatantra Dev Singh, along with several BJP functionaries, were present at the event. Earlier, the CM flagged off the 'Ekta Nauka Race' on the Yamuna to commemorate Dr Mookerjee's contribution to national integration. Later, he chaired a meeting in the Prayagraj Mela Authority auditorium to review ongoing and completed projects of the PWD and other departments in the Prayagraj zone. He also offered prayers at the Bade Hanuman Temple....