People's Democracy

ON December 3 evening, a condolence meeting was held at the CPI(M) headquarters to pay homage to Comrade N Prasada Rao, former member of the Central Committee, veteran leader of the CPI(M) and one of the pioneers of the communist movement in Andhra Pradesh. Comrade N Prasada Rao, affectionately called NPR, passed away on November 29, at a private nursing home in Hyderabad after a brief illness. He was 89 years old.

The condolence meeting at the AKG Bhawan was presided over by the CITU general secretary Dr M K Pandhe and attended by a large number of party and mass organisation workers. CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Polit Bureau members P Ramachandran and Prakash Karat spoke about the contribution made by Comrade N Prasada Rao in building the party.

Comrade Prasada Rao was one of the first generation of party leaders. He led a simple, spartan life with very few needs. His sacrifices for the party and the comrades became an example for others to follow. His life exemplified communist values. His life was marked by sufferings and sacrifices, including long years in jail and underground. He had no attachments and donated his entire property to the party.

The speakers recalled that Comrade Prasada Rao, born in a well-to-do family, joined the Communist Party in 1934, which was a rare event in those days. He was one of the senior most leaders of the party and was requested to hoist the party flag in the special party conference at Thiruvananthapuram in October 2000.

Surjeet said there was no aspect of party life to which Prasada Rao did not contribute. As an organiser he played an important role in the growth of the communist movement in Andhra Pradesh and on a national level. He was one of the important leaders of the Munagala peasant movement and took an active part in the Telangana peasants’ armed struggle. He was very active in the debates on issues connected with the party.

Pandhe described how Comrade Prasada Rao contributed to building the trade union movement in the country and in Andhra Pradesh.

According to P Ramachandran, Comrade Prasada Rao helped in building the peasant and working class organisations in the country. He was general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Raithu Sangam for eight years and of the All India Kisan Sabha for another eight years. He was also the general secretary of the AP Agriculture Labour Union for some time and vice-president of the International Agriculture Labour Union for five years.

Prakash Karat recalled how Prasada Rao played a leading role since he was elected to the all-India leadership of the party at the third congress of the party in 1953. Since then he has been in the leading positions in the undivided party and then in the CPI(M). He was elected to the Central Committee of the CPI(M) in 1964 and remained its member till the 16th congress in 1998, when he stepped down due to old age.

Comrade Prasada Rao played a leading role in the struggle against revisionism. He was one among the 32 National Council members who left the CPI and formed the CPI(M). When the entire Andhra leadership of the party was detained during the years 1964 to 1966, he took upon himself the task of defending the party from both right deviation and left adventurism. He immensely contributed to rallying the party against naxalite disruption.

Through a resolution, the meeting paid its respectful homage to the memory of Comrade N Prasada Rao and conveyed its heartfelt condolences to his family members. (INN)