The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses profound grief at the death of a former member of its Central Committee, Mridul De. He died on April 24 after battling cancer for some time. He was 76 years old.
Born in Chattagram in undivided Bengal, Mridul De actively participated in the student movement as a college student and joined the party soon after. In the 1960s and early 1970s he fought bravely against police atrocities. He was jailed twice and was also externed from Darjeeling district for some time.
Later, Mridul De shifted to Kolkata and became a whole timer of the Party. He joined the Party daily Ganashakti, and played an important role in converting the eveninger to a morning daily. A skilled reporter with an eye for detail he worked as the chief reporter of the paper for a long period.
He was elected to the West Bengal State Committee of the Party in 1985 and became a member of the State Secretariat in 2001. At the Coimbatore Congress of the Party in 2008 he was elected to the Central Committee, of which he continued to be a member till 2022.
He was well read and wrote many books and pamphlets for political education of the Party.
The Polit Bureau conveys its deepest condolences to his wife Swapna, family members and comrades.