Senior leaders condole death of CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjaan

New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) Senior leaders, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, and CPI general secretary D Raja condoled the death of CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjaan on Friday.
     Anjaan, national secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), died at a hospital in Lucknow on Friday morning. He was 70.
     "CPI mourns the loss of Comrade Atul Kumar Anjaan, National Secretary, CPI. Comrade Atul was battling disease for months but his spirit remained indomitable," Raja said in a post on X.
     "From a firebrand student leader and President of the Lucknow University Students’ Union, he took charge as the National President of AISF and led the student movement. He was committed to the cause of farmers and organised them as the General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha," he said.
     Raja also remembered Anjaan's contributions as a member of the Swaminathan Commission.
     Yechury also condoled his death. "Lal Salam Com Atul Kumar Anjan. Conveyed deep felt condolences on behalf of the CPI(M) to the CPI General Secretary, Com D Raja," Yechury said in a post on X.
     "I am deeply grieved to hear the news of the death of Comrade Atul Kumar Anjaan. I have known him for half a century since our student days when both of us used to be in the student movement and worked together on many issues and campaigns," Yechury said.
     Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the MP from Lucknow, also condoled Anjaan's death and recalled his days as a students' leader in Lucknow.
     "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Shri Atul Kumar Anjan, prominent leader of the Communist Party of India. Anjaan ji, who started his political career from student politics in Lucknow, was counted among the leading communist leaders of India," Singh said.
     In a statement, the All India Kisan Sabha recalled his contribution to farmers' movements in India, and his role as a member of the Swaminathan Commission.
     "He made an immense contribution to the Left Movement and the Peasants' Movement in India. He was also a member of the National Commission of Farmers known popularly as the Swaminathan Commission and for its recommendation of MSP @C2+50 percent which has now become a rallying point for farmers," the AIKS said.
     According to his sister Ratna Singh, Anjaan was suffering from cancer for several years and had earlier undergone treatment in Delhi.
     Anjaan began his political career as an activist of the All India Students' Federation. He was elected president of National College Students' Union when he was just 20 years old and was elected the president of the Lucknow University Students' Union in 1977, which he won four times in a row. He later became the state president of All India Students' Federation and also its national president.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)