Com. P Sundaraya Birth Centenary observed in Tripura

The Birth Centenary function of Com. P Sundarayya, was held in Agartala. The 20th Congress of the CPI-M, held in Kozhikode in Kerala, had decided to hold a year-long observance of the birth centenary of the party's first general secretary P. Sundarayya from May 2012. Com. P Sundarayya was the general secretary of the CPI-M from its inception in 1964 and played a major role in establishing the party as a leading force in the Left movement in the country.

The function was organised by CPIM Tripura State Committee. Three day seminar from 31st August to 2nd September was held in Agartala Town Hall. Book release, cultural fuction and poster exhibition on the life and deeds of Sundarayya was also organised as part of the function. Com. Prakash Karat, General Secretary CPIM Inaugurated the function. He said that the UPA government has been giving opportunities to multi-national and private companies to loot India's natural resources, including coal while inaugurating the function. 

Demanding probe into the coal block allocations, Karat said: "The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government is providing scope to multi-national and private companies to ransack country's resources." He said that coal industry and coal mines had been nationalised in 1973. "India has the fourth largest coal reserves in the world. Without proper auction and bidding, coal reserves cannot be allocated. Both previous BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and Congress-led governments have been trying to distribute the precious natural resources illegally."

Criticising the UPA government's foreign policy, Karat said that the US has been dictating who should be India's friend and with whom India should maintain diplomacy."Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went to Tehran to attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit, but India, on US pressure, reduced 40 percent oil import from Iran. India-Iran ties were excellent in the past, but have fallen now," he said.

"Communist movement must be in the Indian context. We must organise rural proletariat. That was the vital agenda of the builder of the communist movement in India (Sundarayya)," he said. 

On the First Day of the seminar CPIM Politburo Member and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said," In order to protect people from hurdles, we need to strengthen our party”, he urged the workers. “There were attempts to weaken the party in the state. There were similar attempts in West Bengal and Kerala”. “Anti-Left forces like wild animals had plunged upon the then Left Front government in West Bengal. A larger such assault is being formulated against Tripura’s Left Front government”, Sarkar added. The Chief Minister alleged that some anti-progressive forces kept alive terrorists to use them against the Left Front government in the coming days. He had a word of appeal to the supporters. “The communists have to maintain discipline”. A plea for self-rectification, a call to consolidate the party’s vote bank, a cry to give a fight to reckon with the CPM leader has sounded off the poll bugle. Coming down upon the Congress controlled UPA II government, he asserted that with the weakened strength of the Left Front, the union government is now adopting anti-people policies and surrendering to imperialist forces. Sarkar claimed that Left parties are emerging as alternative during this crisis period. He further said that the state would continue to be a bastion of the red flag, the banner of the CPM -led Left Front. 

On the Second day of the function, CPIM P B Members Sitharam Yechury and Com. B V Raghavulu spoke on the contributions made by Com. Sundarayya to the communist movement in India.