Decades after Syama Prasad's death, a day of pride for family

KOLKATA: Pride and happiness defined the day for the kin of Syama Prasad Mookerjee as PM Narendra Modi and all other senior BJP leaders recalled his sacrifices and paid rich tributes to the founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh. After the swearing-in ceremony, newly elected CM Suvendu Adhikari visited Mukherjee's home and paid tribute to the party icon. For Mookerjee's granddaughter Sarmeela Marquis, it was a great day as the name of her "Dadu" echoed through the voices of all politicians on Saturday. "To keep his memory alive, the newly elected govt must work to turn his dreams into reality," she said. Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee, former chief justice of Bombay high court and nephew of Syama Prasad, said: "It's good to see Mejka's (my uncle's) photograph on the front page of newspapers decades after his death in a Srinagar jail in 1953. His mother Jogmaya Devi had appealed to the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru for an independent inquiry, but it was not accepted."