Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS): The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday demanded reopening of the probe into the death of Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) leader Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh in 1968.

State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant urged the Maharashtra government to request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the probe since it is the birth centenary year of Upadhyay.

"The Centre and various state governments are celebrating the birth centenary of the late Pandit Upadhyay who was the President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner to the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"However, it's sad that the mystery behind the death of such a towering personality has not been solved yet," Sawant observed.

He said the central and state governments had implemented several programmes in Pandit Upadhyay's memory all over the country, including renaming of the Mughalsarai station after him, passing a resolution in Maharashtra legislature and launching schemes dedicated to his memory, among numerous other initiatives.

In the past three years, since it assumed office, the BJP has discussed and shown inclination to probe the death of the revolutionary leader of Indian freedom struggle, the late Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

It was widely expected that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would also take up investigations into the mystery behind the death of Pandit Upadhyay who is their important leader.

"Unfortunately, neither did the present government, nor the previous NDA (National democratic Alliance) government headed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee initiate any steps in this regard," Sawant said.

He added that former BJS President Balraj Madhok reportedly had some crucial information about the Pandit Upadhyay case, yet nothing was done, though his (Pandit Upadhyay's) descendants and BJP leader Madhu Sharma had demanded a fresh probe.

Sawant said there was no harm in making another attempt and urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to request the Prime Minister on behalf of the state to probe the Pandit Upadhyay case afresh.