Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Veteran state BJP leader Harekrishna Bharali, a stalwart from the Jana Sangh, passed away in a hospital in Guwahati on Tuesday night. He was 76. He leaves behind his wife, a daughter, a son, relatives, and a host of admirers.
The state BJP condoled the demise of its former organizational general secretary and vice president.
According to state BJP spokesperson Kishore Upadhyay, born in 1949 in Hajo, Bharali completed all three levels of RSS training in 1964, 1965, and 1967. In 1967, he formally stepped into politics as a district organiser for Barpeta under the Jana Sangh. Throughout his career, he remained dedicated to the ideals of Bharat Mata, the Jana Sangh, and later, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During the emergency period, responding to the call of Jayaprakash Narayan, Bharali played a crucial role in Assam's resistance movement as the convener of the Assam Volunteer Force. After being released from jail in 1977, he became the general secretary of the newly formed Janata Party in Assam.
During the emergency, just as Congress jailed national leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Morarji Desai, a similar wave of repression swept through Assam. Bharali was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in a covert police operation at the Machkhowa bus stand. He was subjected to severe police torture during his detention, Upadhaya said. However, he later fought back legally, filing a case in the high court, which led to the punishment of the responsible police officials.
Bharali was in jail when his mother passed away. Even during her last rites, the police took him to the cremation ground with his hands shackled. The mortal remains of Bharali were brought to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhavan, where party workers bid him farewell, besides paying floral tributes.
State BJP president Dilip Saikia said, "Bharali was an ideal and guiding force for all party workers. From his early days as an RSS Swayamsevak, he dedicated his life to nationalism."
Former BJP Assam presidents Narayan Borkotoky and Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Minister Ashok Singhal, and others also paid him tributes.
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