Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced during the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust that the port will be renamed after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
Mookerjee, who was India's first industry minister, was a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that made way for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Modi highlighted that the port represents “industrial, spiritual and self sufficiency aspirations of India”. “Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India,” he said.
“It was unfortunate for the country that after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Babasaheb Ambedkar resigned from the government, their suggestions were not implemented as they should have been,” PM Modi said. He added that Mookerjee had contributed a lot to development projects in Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the event. She met the prime minister in a “courtesy meeting”, asking him to withdraw the new citizenship law. Mamata then proceeded to join a protest organised by students against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the National Population Register (NPR).
The Centre, in a gazette notification, announced on Friday that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will come into force from January 10.
