Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday laid the foundation stone for a proposed 125-foot statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Kolkata as part of the celebrations marking the BJP ideologue's 125th birth anniversary.

Shah, who is on a day-long visit to the West Bengal capital, participated in a bhoomi pujan ceremony at New Town before formally launching the ambitious memorial project. Suvendu Adhikari was present during the ceremony, along with senior BJP leaders and state ministers.

Earlier in the day, Shah arrived in Kolkata for his first visit to the state since the BJP government assumed office on May 9. He was received at the airport by Adhikari, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other leaders.

The Union Home Minister also visited Mookerjee's ancestral residence in Bhabanipur, where he paid floral tributes to the former Union minister, noted educationist and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Later in the evening, Shah is scheduled to attend a commemorative programme at the Biswa Bangla Mela Ground, where senior BJP leaders, party workers and supporters from across West Bengal are expected to gather.

Apart from participating in the anniversary events, Shah is expected to hold discussions with the state BJP leadership on organisational matters and the party's political roadmap in West Bengal ahead of future electoral battles.

Born on July 6, 1901, Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the political predecessor of the BJP. He died in detention in Srinagar on June 23, 1953.

Mookerjee had strongly advocated for the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India and opposed the region's special constitutional status under Article 370, which was abrogated by the Narendra Modi government on August 5, 2019.