Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced that his government would set up a memorial at Syama Prasad Mookerjee's ancestral home in Hooghly's Jirat and install a 125-foot-tall statue of the Jana Sangh founder in Calcutta.
Jirat in Hooghly is the ancestral village of Syama Prasad Mookerjee. His grandfather, Ganga Prasad Mukhopadhayay, was born in Jirat and later settled in Calcutta. Syama Prasad was born in 1901 in Calcutta.
"Your government, the nationalist government, has decided to buy Syama Prasad Mookerjee's ancestral home in Jirat and develop it into a memorial. We will build a library there," Suvendu said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Tarakeswar in Hooghly.
"Furthermore, your government will install a 125-foot-tall standing statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Calcutta, ensuring that his legacy remains eternal," he added, addressing the first state government event to observe Paschimbanga Divas.
The BJP has accused previous governments of downplaying Mookerjee's contributions. Sources said that forming a government in Mookerjee's land was a key aim for the BJP and the wider saffron camp. Following the election victory, social media was flooded with posters claiming that the dream had been fulfilled.
Suvendu's announcement underscored the BJP's intention to elevate the legacy of its ideological icon credited with ensuring that West Bengal remained a part of India during Partition.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya had already said that the new government would introduce Paschimbanga Divas and Mookerjee's role in the school syllabus.
Suvendu also accused the Congress, the Left and the TMC of suppressing history. "Earlier, the Congress, Communist, and Trinamool governments did not officially observe Paschimbanga Divas in an attempt to erase and make people forget Syama Prasad Mookerjee's contribution," he said. "Therefore, for the first time, a nationalist government is officially observing Paschimbanga Divas in Tarakeswar."
Suvendu also announced that Mookerjee's death and birth anniversaries, on June 23 and July 6 respectively, would be held with the honour they deserved. The BJP has planned to observe the Syama Prasad fortnight from June 23 to July 6.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Suvendu and the people of Bengal on the occasion of Paschimbanga Divas on Saturday.