Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday said that the life of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the great freedom fighter and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, is a symbol of national service, sacrifice, and principles and declared to name the under-construction science centre after him.Union Minister JP Nadda and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini participate in the ‘Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Jayanti Celebration’, in Ambala on Monday. (ANI)Saini also announced the installation of his statue at the Shaheed Smarak, dedicated in the memory of the unsung heroes of the 1857 First War of Independence.The CM was addressing a state-level programme on the 125th birth anniversary memorial event in Mookerjee’s memory in Ambala city.Union health minister and former BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, BJP state president Dr Archana Gupta, BJP Parliamentary Board member Sudha Yadav, former minister Aseem Goel also attended the event.Saini said that Mookerjee served as independent India’s first minister of industry and his political life was not driven by a desire for power, but by a dedication to service.The CM said that the land of Ambala has a historical connection with the life of Dr Mookerjee as on May 8, 1953, when he left for Jammu and Kashmir, after reaching Ambala station, he sent a message to the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, that he was coming to Jammu without a permit and wanted to establish peace by observing the situation there.The CM said that at the Ravi river bridge, a government order prevented him from entering Jammu and Kashmir, but he stated clearly that he was determined to enter the state.“He then entered without a permit, where he was arrested and placed under house arrest near Srinagar. He died during his detention. This sacrifice was the supreme sacrifice for the unity and integrity of India,” he added.In his address, Nadda said that Mookerjee had advocated for granting citizenship to refugees from East Pakistan who fled India due to religious persecution.“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled this vision by implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Several decisions, such as ‘Make in India’, defense manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, the new education policy, and Atmanirbhar Bharat, are steps forward in furthering Dr Mookerjee’s nationalist vision. The new education policy is a historic initiative to make education accessible, affordable, flexible, and mother tongue-based,” Nadda told the gathering.He also praised the state’s double-engine government and Saini, while also listing development works like Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram thermal power plant in Yamunanagar, the Dwarka Expressway, the Rewari bypass, Maruti Suzuki plant in Kharkhoda and others.