Red Salute to Comrade NK Natarajan!

The Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) expresses profound sorrow over the sudden demise of Comrade NK Natarajan. A long-standing Party vanguard in Tamil Nadu, Comrade NK had discharged Party responsibilities with exemplary commitment and perseverance at every juncture in the history of the Party organisation in the state. A dedicated Communist organiser of the working class, he worked in several sectors and districts over his protracted career spanning four decades. At the time of the Pricol workers' struggle in Coimbatore when many of our union leaders and activists faced persecution by the state-management nexus, Comrade NK led the Party and the Union with great patience and determination, maintaining close contact with the common workers and keeping the morale high.

After the Mansa Congress when the Party in Tamil Nadu faced a period of instability following the desertion of a group of members of central, state and district committees, Comrade NK was inducted into the Central Committee and elected Secretary of the reorganised State Committee. Working in close coordination with the Party Polit Bureau and the Central Committee, Comrade NK led the Party to a new level of organisational and functional expansion. The anti-fascist convention held in Thanjavur and the 11th State Conference held in Trichy on 25-27 November demonstrated the growing strength and confidence of the Party. Comrade NK represented this new optimism in the Muzaffarpur Central Committee meeting on 1-3 December, and the entire Party felt encouraged by the developments in the Party in Tamil Nadu.

Carrying forward this momentum and leading the Party to an all-round expansion and consolidation in Tamil Nadu as well as in the national context will be the best tribute that we can pay to our beloved comrade.

Red Salute to Comrade NK Natarajan!

Let us make our best possible efforts to fulfill his unfinished tasks.