New Delhi: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan joined Left parties in paying rich tributes to Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, saying the departed leader was a great friend of the Indian communist movement and India.

Quoting one of Castro's famous statements, Pinarayi said, "Adieu Comrade Fidel! You will continue to inspire."

'A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past'. Adieu Comrade Fidel! You will continue to inspire. pic.twitter.com/S7RXeB8ixZ — CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) November 26, 2016

Marxist veteran and former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said Castro's death was a "great loss" to humanity in these days as imperialist forces were spreading its roots globally.



Describing Castro as a source of "inspiration," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said he steered Cuba from a very backward country to what it is today.

Adios Fidel Castro: The bearded revolutionary who outlasted nine US presidents



"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.

In a statement, the CPI said "Fidel Castro played a historic role in building the modern socialist Cuba, which is free from illiteracy, hunger and illness. Castro was great Marxist thinker and a legendary revolutionary fighter".

"He was great friend of Indian communist movement and India. He played remarkable role in the non-aligned movement giving it a new orientation," the party said.

Expressing "deep sorrow" over the demise of the former Cuban president, the CPI said, "his demise is not just a loss for Cuba but for the whole world and for all revolutionary."

Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 US presidents during his half century rule, died in Havana on Friday night.

(With agency inputs)