Kolkata, 09 May (H.S.) :

Family members of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party worker Makhanlal Sarkar on Saturday expressed pride and happiness after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought his blessings during the swearing-in ceremony of Suvendu Adhikari as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal.

The family said Sarkar had dedicated decades of his life to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP while maintaining a simple and principled lifestyle.

His daughter, Sanchita Basak, said the family felt proud that his years of dedication had finally been recognised.

“When we were young, he used to be a member of the RSS. He did a lot for the party. Today, when the BJP government was formed, we felt that all his hard work has paid off,” she said.

Basak added that despite receiving offers from other political parties over the years, her father never abandoned the BJP and remained committed to its ideology.

She also said leaders from other political parties, including the All India Trinamool Congress, the CPI(M) and the Congress, respected him.

According to her, former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj used to write letters to her father, and he had even gone to jail along with Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Makhanlal Sarkar’s son, Maniklal Sarkar, said the family never imagined that the Prime Minister would show such respect to his father.

He said his father became associated with the RSS at the age of 16 and later played a significant role in the formation of the BJP’s Darjeeling unit.

“My father also worked with Syama Prasad Mookerjee for several years. He was even arrested for singing the national anthem,” he said.

Maniklal Sarkar described his father as an honest man who had always led a simple life and never deviated from the principles of the RSS.

Recalling an incident from the tenure of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, he said a permit had once been issued to his father for transport operations between Siliguri and Gangtok, but he surrendered it in court, stating that he did not engage in party work for money.

Makhanlal Sarkar’s wife, Putul Sarkar, said her husband had struggled for many years and rarely discussed politics at home, though he frequently read books related to Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

His daughter-in-law, Minu Sarkar, said the entire family felt proud that he had finally received recognition after years of dedicated work for the BJP.

“It has been 25 years of my marriage and I have seen him attending every meeting whenever he was called throughout all these years,” she said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh