Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Kerala Left leaders on Saturday paid tribute to Fidel Castro, terming the former Cuban President a shining beacon of the Communist movement across the world.

Former Kerala Minister and senior CPI leader Binoy Viswam said his meeting with the great revolutionary way back in 1984 in Havana is still fresh in his memory.

“The moment he walked into the meeting hall where hundreds of youths from various places were present, the atmosphere turned electric with lots of slogan shouting, especially of ‘Either socialism, or death’. He was an inspiration to Communists all over the world,” said Viswam.

State Finance Minister and academic Thomas Issac said though Castro was not a Communist in the beginning, he later turned one, and since then he was instrumental in laying a new path for the third world countries, especially the Communist movement.

Former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said Castro was a shining beacon for the Communist movement all over the world and his passing away is going to be an irreparable loss.

State Communist Party of India secretary Kanam Rajendran recalled that Castro played a huge role in showing to the world that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Communist movement is here to stay, and proved it too.

“He was always an inspiration for Indian communists. We too played a small role when an embargo was announced against Cuba, especially by providing food items and medicines,” said Rajendran.

State Education Minister C. Raveendranath said the greatness of Castro was he understood the emotions and the feelings of the ordinary man.

“Communists across the globe have a common thread as Castro too followed the Marxist thoughts and ideology which he showed and proved was the true alternative to the neo-liberal policies,” said Raveendranath.

Indian Left parties on Saturday paid rich tributes to Castro, saying the departed leader was a great friend of the Indian Communist movement and India.

Describing Castro as a source of “inspiration,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said he steered Cuba from a very backward country to what it is today.

“He steered Cuba from a very backward country to what it is today. It has got the world’s highest rate of literacy, development in medical sciences where even the US sends doctors for training there. And he remained and remains a big revolutionary and source of inspiration,” he said.

“End of an era. But revolutionaries like Fidel Castro live forever,” he said in a tweet.