House in disorder

The BJP may cry itself hoarse over the treatment meted out to national heroes but the party wasn8217;t any different when it came to its own icon Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. During a recent visit to Kolkata, party President Rajnath Singh was told about his own NDA government turning a blind eye to the family8217;s request for a grant that could have been used to renovate Mookerjee8217;s 8220;historical house8221;. While the family never expected anything from Left or Congress-led governments, they wrote a letter to the Culture Ministry during the NDA regime for a special grant. The secretary is learnt to have asked them about the 8220;significance of Mookerjee8221; in India8217;s history. A shocked family didn8217;t give up though. Against a request for Rs 20 lakh, the NDA government honoured its icon with a mere Rs 75,000 to renovate the house.