Hyderabad, Dec 26 (UNI) The CPI Centenary Foundation Day meeting here on Friday called for the unification of all leftist forces and a renewed struggle for safeguarding the rights of the people.
The tone was set by the Communist Party of India (CPI) Telangana Secretary and MLA Koonamneni Sambasiva Rao who said that people across the country are hoping that all red flags would unite under a single banner which would one day fly over the Red Fort in Delhi establishing a genuinely pro-people government.
He accused the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi of moving in a regressive direction by repealing rights and laws enacted after decades of heroic struggles. 
Addressing the CPI Centenary meeting held at Makhdoom Bhavan in Hyderabad under the auspices of the CPI State Committee, he alleged that the Centre was attempting to weaken labour rights, silence voices questioning injustice and portray communism as a threat, while pursuing pro-corporate policies.
Sambasiva Rao asserted that without the Communist Party of India, many of the laws and rights enjoyed by the people today would not have existed.
He said the party has completed 100 years of its formation with a glorious history of sacrifices and struggles for the liberation of humanity from exploitation. 
Recalling the role of communists in national development, Sambasiva Rao said the CPI spearheaded historic movements such as bank nationalisation, land reforms, liberation of peasants, the eight-hour workday for labourers and the inclusion of Dalits, Backward Classes, unorganised workers and oppressed sections into the mainstream. 
He said the Telangana armed struggle deserved a place in world history, noting that thousands of villages were liberated during the movement. 
He alleged that workers today are being denied even the right to strike and criticised the situation in the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation, claiming employees continue to face wage-related issues even after the formation of Telangana. He also condemned what he described as attempts to jail those who raise questions, in the name of fighting Maoism. 
Speaking on the occasion, CPI National Secretary Palla Venkat Reddy said the BJP was “trembling at the sight of the red flag” because it has the power to awaken people. 
He accused the BJP of trying to erase the communist legacy from history and reminded that communists played a decisive role in the Telangana armed struggle and the integration of Hyderabad into India. 
CPI National Secretary K Ramakrishna demanded that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) explain its role during the freedom struggle, questioning whether any of its members participated in it or went to jail during the British rule. He called upon all communist forces to reunite to counter communal and anti-development policies. 
Senior CPI leader Syed Aziz Pasha said the people were once again looking towards the CPI for leadership, recalling that the party had served as the principal opposition in the country during the 1950s and 1960s. He noted that in the first general elections, communist leader Ravi Narayana Reddy had secured more votes than Jawaharlal Nehru. 
Several CPI leaders, state executive members and representatives of trade unions and mass organisations participated in the centenary meet which concluded with a call for unity of all communist forces to uphold peoples rights.