SENIOR CPI(ML) LEADER PASSED AWAY

SENIOR CPI(ML) LEADER PASSED AWAY

9-JAN-ENG 11

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------------CPI(ML) District Standing Committee member and former head of Dhanchuha Panchayat, Comrade Ramkishore Rai, passed away yesterday due to cardiac arrest.  The news of his death sent a wave of grief through the party. Hundreds of party leaders and workers reached his village, Dhanchuha in Sahar block.  His funeral procession took place from his village today.

Before that, a condolence meeting was held. During this time, CPI(ML) Politburo member and senior leader Swadesh Bhattacharya, State Secretary Kunal, Central Committee member and District Secretary Jawaharlal Singh, Central Committee member Abhyuday, Central Committee member Raju Yadav, Central Committee member and former MLA Manoj Manzil, State Committee member and former MLA Shivprakash Ranjan, former MLA Chandradeep Singh, former MLA of Arwal Mahanand Singh, Ramesh Singh, Upendra Bharti, Sanjay Singh, Madan Singh, Qiyamuddin Ansari, Dilip Kumar, hundreds of party leaders and workers, and people from the area offered floral tributes to his mortal remains. A two-minute silence was observed to pay homage. Addressing the condolence meeting, CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal said that Comrade Ramkishore Rai had joined the party in the 1980s. He was born into a middle-class farmer family (Bhumihar caste) in Dhanchuhan village of Sahar police station.  At a time when the anti-feudal peasant movement was intensifying in Bhojpur and upper-caste people, instigated by landlords and landowners, considered CPI(ML) (IPF) their enemy, Comrade Ramkishore Rai's joining the party was a very progressive and revolutionary step. He became a party member in 1987. Since then, despite many ups and downs, he remained a strong soldier of the party. In 2006, he contested the Mukhiya (village head) election from Dhanchuhan Panchayat and won with a good margin, establishing himself as an honest and pro-people representative. In the next election, the party fielded him for the District Council election, and he lost by a very narrow margin.  Most importantly, when many weaker comrades left the party due to caste sentiments during the struggle against the Ranvir Sena, Rai not only remained firmly with the party but also led the struggle.  Moreover, he remained undeterred even when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the elimination of nine Ranvir Sena criminals during a people's resistance in Nadhi. While in jail, his eldest son passed away, yet he did not waver and resumed his work with the same energy after his release. Comrade Rai was a very resilient and revolutionary person. He was still a member of the party's District Standing Committee.

At a time when there is a strong possibility of a massive movement against fascist forces in the country, the loss of a strong soldier like Comrade Rai is an irreparable loss for the party. Comrade Ramkishore Rai's funeral procession left from his village Dhanchuhan at 3 PM, and his last rites were performed at the Sahar Son river. Comrade Ramkishore Rai's son, Ajay Rai, lit the funeral pyre. Hundreds of people bid him farewell with tearful eyes and raised slogans. This information was given to reporters by Dilraj Pritam, the district office secretary of CPI-ML.