Hundreds of CPIML activists bid a final farewell to their beloved leader Comrade Brij Bihari Pandey on 27 August 2021 with the pledge to carry forward the struggle for change. The final journey started from the legislative party office in Patna at 3 pm and proceeded through various parts of the city to reach Baans Ghat.
Accompanying the final journey were CPIML General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya as well as senior party leaders and leaders and activists from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Jharkhand and other states who had worked closely with Comrade BB Pandey. Earlier, a condolence meeting was organized at the legislative party office which was also attended by Mahagathbandhan leaders including former Bihar Assembly Speaker and RJD leader Shri Udaynarayan Chaudhury, Vrishan Patel, CPI leaders Vijay Narayan Mishra and Ghaznafar Nawab, CPI-M leaders Arun Kumar Mishra and Rampari, RJD MLA from Makhdumpur Satish Das, Forward Bloc leader Amerika Mahto, SUCI(C)leader Suryakar Jitendra, Pushpendra and Mahendra Suman (Patna TIMS), physician Dr PNP Pal and former MLA Ramesh Kushwaha.
Party leaders who paid tribute to Comrade BB Pandey included senior leader Swadesh Bhattacharya, Nandkishore Prasad, UP party in-charge Ramji Rai, senior leader from West Bengal Kartik Pal, Jharkhand State Secretary Janardan Prasad, Bagodar MLA Vinod Singh, Central Control Commission member Uma Gupta, Comrade BB Pandey's wife and AIPWA leader Vibha Gupta, daughters Aditi and Riya, family members, CPIML Bardhaman District Secretary Surendra Singh, IREF leader Kishanu, AIARLA National President Shriram Chaudhury, Bihar State Secretary Kunal, Amar, Dhirendra Jha, Meena Tiwari, Shashi Yadav, Madhu, KD Yadav, Pawan Sharma, RN Thakur, Santosh Sahar, Aleem Akhtar, PS Maharaj, central Committee and State Committee members, party MLAs, and many District Secretaries.
Speaking at the condolence meeting, General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said that 2020-21 has been an extremely sad period for us as we have lost many of our comrades. We lost Comrades Arvind Kumar and Ramjatan Sharma some days ago and now we have gathered here to bid our final farewell to Comrade BB Pandey. Comrade BB Pandey had worked for the party for the past 50 years in various areas and on various fronts, discharging all his responsibilities with utmost dedication. He was a childhood friend of Comrade Vinod Mishra and came into contact with the party while studying in college. Both he and Comrade Vinod Mishra turned their studies into a struggle for people's freedom. Another of his comrades in this campaign was Comrade DP Bakshi whom we had lost in 2018. Many students and industrial workers from the Durgapur region joined them in this drive. Later, Comrade BB Pandey played an important role in the re-organization of CPIML.
Comrade BB Pandey and his comrades did the work of taking the party forward, expanding party activities, and running the party. He played a huge role in giving impetus to party publications. He was consistently active in Lal Jhanda, Liberation, Janmat and Jansanskriti Manch where his intellectual capabilities were invaluable. His was a rare combination of an intellectual and a dedicated and disciplined party soldier and it was due to this quality that he became Chairman of the party's Central Control Commission. From him we can learn the qualities of endless patience, never losing temper, always speaking in a low voice, and always carrying forward party discipline, ideology and politics. He was our role model. He played the role of teacher to students in the party and also outside the party and taught them to practise Marxism.
