BJP leader Mathur was a great social and political worker

New Delhi, Oct 20 (UNI) Associated throughout his life with the RSS since joining it in 1945, Jagdish Prasad Mathur will always be remembered, among other reasons, for being one of the founding members of the BJP via Jan Sangh and a three time Rajya Sabha member.

The senior BJP leader died at a local hospital early this morning after a protracted battle with cancer.

Born on November, 1921 to Mahavir Prasad Mathur at Sherkot, Bijnaur district in Uttar Pradesh, J P Mathur received his education at A P Mission High School and DAV College, Dehradun.

He worked in the Students' Federation of India during student life and was member of the Radical Democratic Party and worked with M N Roy, the great Marxist and radical humanist.

As a social and political worker, he participated in the 'Quit India' movement and joined the RSS in 1942, before becoming its whole time devotee in 1945.

A warrant was issued for him with M N Roy in 1953. Mathur was again incarcerated during ban on R S S in 1948 and again in the Kashmir Movement in 1953.

Mathur joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1952 and worked underground during the Emergency from June, 1975 to March, 1977 handling foreign publicity and carried a prize on his head by the Delhi Police for arrest.

During the same time he was the in charge of the North Indian States from Bihar to Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan etc to organize peaceful resistance against the Emergency.

With the merger of Jan Sangh Mathur joined the Janata Party. He was the All India Secretary of the BJP since 1986 and its deputy Leader since 1993.

Mathur was also a member on Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha and Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals.

Considered close to BJP stalwart L K Advani, Mathur served as the party's deputy leader in the upper house and was also elected to Rajya Sabha in April, 1978 and again in April, 1990.

Mathur was unmarried and his favourite pastime and recreation were reading fiction (English) and Urdu Poetry.

UNI