The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Leaders pay glowing tributes to Surjeet

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Leaders pay glowing tributes to Surjeet

Special Correspondent

Say his legacy of political pragmatism has a message for all leaders

— Photo: S. Mahinsha

HOMAGE: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and CPI(M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan with (from left) Mathew T. Thomas, G. Karthikeyan, M. Vijayakumar, P.K. Krishnadas and Benoy Viswom pay homage to the former general secretary of the CPI(M) Harkishan Singh Surjeet at a condolence meeting organised by the CPI(M) district committee in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leaders cutting across political lines paid glowing tributes to the former CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who passed away on Friday, at a condolence meeting organised by the CPI(M) district committee here on Monday.

The leaders, led by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, recalled the immense suffering Surjeet endured as a young freedom fighter and the pivotal role he played in the history of the Communist movement and national politics of the 1990s. They were united in their view that his legacy of political pragmatism has a message for political leaders of all times.

Mr. Achuthanandan dwelt at length on the difficult phases through which the Communist movement the world over had passed in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and pointed out that he had stood firm and did not allow the cadres to be swayed by the anti-Communist propaganda that swept the world at the time.

Communist parties the world over might have committed mistakes during their journey towards revolution and while engaged in socialist construction, but these were mistakes that could be corrected and Surjeet firmly believed that it was so, he said.

Mr. Vijayan said Surjeet’s interventions were not confined to his party or the national political scene. He had made crucial interventions at the international level as well, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He did so by convening a conference of representatives of Communist movements worldwide to discuss the developments in the socialist world. He had also made significant interventions to help Cuba in its hours of crisis. He was also a leader accessible not just to his own party men, but also leaders and cadres of other parties and knew the leaders and cadres of the party in Kerala very closely, the CPI(M) State secretary recalled.

Congress leader G. Karthikeyan said Surjeet would be remembered as a leader who broadened the political space of the Left at the national-level despite its not having held power at the Centre at any point of time.

He could mould the ideology for which he stood to suit the times and had displayed unparalleled organisational skills. All actions of his reflected the mind of supremely nationalist Indian, Mr. Karthikeyan said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president P.K. Krishnadas said that in Surjeet’s death the country had lost one of the most prominent leaders of the national freedom struggle. His life was a perennial struggle and he had set an example for all by traversing the path of sacrifice and by keeping himself away from offices of power, Mr. Krishnadas said.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran, Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas, Public Works Minister Mons Joseph, District Panchayat president Anavur Nagappan, CPI district secretary P. Ramachandran Nair, Pirappancode Murali and Ninan Koshy, among others, spoke.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Vijayakumar chaired the meeting. CPI(M) district secretary Kadakampally Surendran welcomed the gathering.

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