Lucknow, June 23 -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday paid tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary, describing the late leader as a "distinguished scholar, a great freedom fighter, and a visionary."

Mookerjee founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological parent organisation of the BJP.

Adressing a gathering in Lucknow, Adityanath said, "Today marks the sacred death anniversary of the great son of Mother India, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founding president of the Bharatiya Janata Sangh. On this very day, in 1953, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee sacrificed his life for the cause of a united India. Dr. Mookerjee was a distinguished scholar, a great freedom fighter, and a visionary who dreamt of a 'E...