A TRUE tribute to Comrade Dasharath Deb will be establishing and maintaining live links with the masses, strengthening mass struggles for a better India and better society. To achieve this, we must strengthen our own Party, CPI(M). On the basis of that we have to galvanise the Left unity and ultimately a Left and democratic unity with an alternative policy trajectory, said Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary. He was addressing a meeting to mark the culmination of the birth centenary celebration of Comrade Dasharath Deb at Rabindra Shatavarshiki Bhaban, Agartala on February 2.

Yechury said the struggle for education started by Janasiksha committee and the armed struggle of the Mukti parishad led by Comrade Dasharath Deb against the feudal rule, created pressure on the king to join the Indian Union. This contribution shall be engraved in golden letters in the formation of the modern Indian democratic republic. He said, the role Comrade Dasharath Deb played in maintaining tribal non-tribal unity in the state and the struggle and initiative of the communist movement and the Left front government of which Comrade Dasharath Deb was part, for ensuring legal and constitutional rights to the tribal people, is indeed a pioneering step. The simplicity, commitment and live relation with the masses and building movements and struggles based on their aspirations are sources of inspiration for us today as we pledge to build a revolutionary party with mass line.

He mounted a sharp attack on the Modi government for the pathetic condition of the economy that is reflected in the negative growth rate in industrial production, manufacturing, agriculture which the government is trying to suppress by surreal figures of GDP growth. Yechury said the PM’s mann ki baat is being mocked as monkey baat, his trip to 38 countries in the last 21 months has given rise to jokes even among the MPs. While the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing rapidly, the government is reluctant to realise tax from the corporates and continue to burden the aam aadmi by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel. To divide the people on communal lines, the BJP and the RSS is playing the dirtiest vote bank politics by creating and encouraging communal tension and hatred with the motive of establishing an intolerant, fascist Hindu Rashtra in accordance with the dreams of the RSS. At the same time, the authoritarian nature of this government is evident in the dismantling of the Planning Commission, depriving the states financially and thus leading to continuous deterioration of the centre-state relations. Yechury said, to combat this three-fold attack and for a better India, we need to build pressure on the government to change its policies to a set of pro-people alternative policies. For this, a revolutionary party like the CPI(M) has to maintain the people’s unity and build sustained struggles maintaining and forging live links with masses on the issues that matter to them. That is the essence of building a revolutionary party following mass line as the Plenum on Organisation has decided. Talking about the pro-people and alternative policies being followed by the Left Front government in Tripura, he said even the former PM admitted that Tripura is the only state where every paise of development funds released by centre is being spent for the masses. This is our responsibility to carry forward this good work to set an example before the country about how people are being benefited by work of the Left front government. He also stressed on giving a befitting reply to the divisive forces led by the IPFT and the national parties which are trying to cash on the IPFT’s attempt to hamper tribal non-tribal unity by defeating all these forces resoundingly in the upcoming village committee elections in Tripura.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar said Comrade Dasharath Deb started as a social reformer and came in touch with the communist party through struggles for literacy and against feudalism. The model state of Tripura as we see it today  is the result of the foundation laid by Comrades Nripen Chakraborty, Dasharath Deb, Sudhanwa Debbarma, Hemanta Debbarma and others. The Left Front government is working to set an alternative policy direction despite all its limitations. But Tripura alone cannot do it. To strengthen the Left and democratic movement all over the country, the communist movement has to be strengthened in all the states. The works of the Left front government here for people’s welfare can encourage the exploited, deprived masses in other parts of the state to join this struggle for an alternative.  He warned against the divisive forces raising the slogan of separate state and emphasised on maintaining live relations with masses, working honestly, strengthening tribal non-tribal unity to win over new people to carry forward the struggle for an exploitation-free society in which Comrade Deb shall remain a source of inspiration.

CPI(M) state secretary and convenor of the centenary celebration committee, Bijan Dhar,  CPI(M) Central Committee member Aghor Debbarma and the president of the committee Niranjan Debbarma also spoke. They and other leaders and members of the committee handed over prizes to the winners of the various cultural and literary competitions organised throughout the year to mark the centenary  celebration.