People's Democracy

Follow Comrade AKG’s Example

Somnath To Party MPs

INSOFAR as parliamentarians are concerned, they can pay a proper tribute to Comrade A K Gopalan if they remember the great tradition and example set by him and follow in his footsteps. This was recently stated by Lok Sabha speaker and veteran CPI(M) parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee.

Interacting with party press correspondents based in Delhi on the eve of the unveiling of Comrade AKG’s statue in parliament house, Chatterjee said he felt extremely proud that the statue was being unveiled during his tenure as Lok Sabha speaker.

Paying glowing tributes to Comrade AKG, the speaker said AKG was a symbol of struggle against oppression and inequality. “Comrade AKG capably utilised Lok Sabha as a forum to give vent to the people’s problems and their struggles against oppression. He was treated as mouthpiece of the struggling masses. Of course, his stature and contribution to the struggle of the Indian masses cannot be determined just by his role inside parliament as he had a much bigger role outside the parliament,” stated Chatterjee.

Recalling his association with Comrade AKG in parliament, Chatterjee said what struck him most as a newcomer was the respect commanded by AKG from everyone in the house. “Whenever he rose to speak, there was pin-drop silence in the house with everyone, including the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, listening to him in rapt attention. In fact, Indira Gandhi never showed any disrespect to Comrade AKG. Of course, in those days we did not witness the ruckus that is so common now in parliament. Though the Left was not a strong force at that time, the stature of leaders like AKG and P Ramamurti gave it a visible presence in the parliament,” said Chatterjee.

Listing the great qualities of Comrade AKG, Chatterjee said he was a very humble person and led a very simple life at the then headquarters of the party at 4, Ashoka Road. As the leader of the parliamentary group, Comrade AKG used to be very considerate towards the junior MPs. He used to always encourage them. He was always regular in attending parliament and used the forum very effectively to highlight the people’s problems and struggles, recalled Chatterjee. Saying that Comrade AKG set an example with his principled politics, sacrifice and hard work, he rued that leaders of that quality are becoming fewer in the country today.

Somnath Chatterjee asserted that the approach adopted by leaders like AKG is by and large being maintained by the party MPs because of the committed policies and programmes of the party. He revealed that this was uppermost in his mind during his tenure as leader of the party in Lok Sabha. Chatterjee ended the interaction with a firm belief that the party would be on the right track if everyone remembered the role played by Comrade AKG.