West Bengal, May 9 (BNP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tribute to veteran BJP worker Makhanlal Sarkar during a public event in West Bengal, touching the 98-year-old’s feet as a mark of respect for his decades-long contribution to nationalist politics.
The gesture drew widespread attention at the event, with Modi acknowledging Sarkar’s lifelong dedication to the nationalist movement and the BJP’s ideological roots. Sarkar is regarded as one of the party’s oldest grassroots workers in West Bengal and has remained associated with nationalist causes since the early years after Independence.
According to party leaders, Makhanlal Sarkar was among those who accompanied Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee during the 1952 Kashmir movement. He was reportedly arrested during the campaign launched to hoist the Indian tricolour in the region, which later became a defining chapter in the Jana Sangh’s political history.
The Prime Minister’s interaction with the veteran worker came amid BJP celebrations in West Bengal following the party’s electoral success in the state. Senior leaders present at the event described Sarkar as a symbol of commitment and ideological perseverance within the organisation.
