From Cuba, a red salute for the ‘bread man’

A message by Cuban President Raul Castro received by the CPI(M) here says his brother Fidel remembers Surjeet as the bread man as the wheat sent by him was used to make bread at a time when Cuba was staring at a famine-like situation.

“Surjeet, the person who brought Indian bread for Cuban people,” the message quotes Fidel as saying. The former CPI(M) general secretary had visited Cuba several times and maintained a close relationship with Castro.

Such tales about Surjeet are aplenty and every one of the buffet of leaders and the multitude of people who queued up outside the CPI(M) headquarters here on Sunday to pay their last respects to the Communist veteran had some good memories about him.

India’s political class, irrespective of their party hues turned up in full strength at the AKG Bhavan here, where the mortal remains of the Communist veteran was kept in state to enable people to pay homage.

From Sonia Gandhi to Rajnath Singh and from Mayawati to Mulayam Singh Yadav, all came to pay respects to Surjeet, who engaged everyone of them at one point or the other in his political career. Having stitched many a rainbow coalition, he was undoubtedly the leader of the leaders and a magnet for all the disparate regional parties, many of which were brought to the national level by him.

“He was the real angel for the poor and working class. “We all offer ‘Lal Salaam’ to Surjeet,” RJD chief Lalu Prasad said in his inimitable style. While the leaders were expected, hundreds of people from all walks of life filed past his body as his party comrades chanted ‘Lal Salaam’ and ‘long live Surjeet’. Majority of those came from his home state Punjab in trucks and buses. “He was one of the rare politicians who was not tainted by corruption even though he was in close proximity with power. He was a friend of the poor and a comrade of the peasants,” recalled Arvinder Singh, who came from Surjeet’s village Badala.

A large number of people even reached his 8 Teen Murti Lane residence where his body was kept in the morning.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad were among the first to reach his residence.

Surjeet’s sons Paramjeet Singh and Gurchetan Singh lit the funeral pyre in accordance with Sikh traditions.

Before the funeral pyre was lit, Delhi Police personnel fired thrice in the air and played the band as a mark of respect to the leader. The Left’s red volunteers gave a guard of honour to Surjeet on the drizzly day.

Snapshots

• SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav visited the CPI(M) headquarters for the first time after his party parted ways with the Left over the n-deal standoff

• While Mulayam spoke to other CPI(M) leaders, he did not exchange words with party general secretary Prakash Karat. The two had engaged in a war of words after the split recently

• At the funeral, former allies UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and BSP chief Mayawati came face to face for the first time after the recent political developments

• The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was initially seated at a distance from Gandhi. But after paying floral tributes to Surjeet, Mayawati sat near Gandhi. The two were seen talking for about 15 minutes