At a function held at the Centenary Hall of Calcutta University in Calcutta on Sunday, leader after leader applauded the good work done by Ganashakti in spreading the Communist message and it was great news to the hundreds present on the occasion that our print circulation has now reached a staggering 1.72 lakhs!

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, addressing the gathering, said that while his best wishes were with the comrades of the newspaper, the time had now come to ``assume greater responsibilities'' and take the information campaign and activism further to greater heights. He said that ``Communist journalists'' were a ``different breed altogether'' and that the basics were the need to draw the line with the bourgeoise press.'' He said, ``We have to educate the people. That is our foremost task.'' The chief minister, in a reference to the BJP, said that the party was busy disseminating the communal virus throughout the country and that the Congress, though no better as far as policies were concerned, was still a secular party. ``It should be the party newspaper's task to carry this message to the people. We should listen to the problems of the people; in fact, an action line should be developed in the columns of the paper where people can seek redressal of their complaints. I would also expect ministers to reply to those letters. And tell the people why some complaints cannot be attended to or why some problems cannot be solved immediately,'' he said.

Basu also said that the paper had gone from strength to strength and recalled the days when the party was banned and the paper, then an eveninger, had to be brought out under a different name. ``It was some experience,'' he said.

The former editor of Ganashakti and state secretary of the state CPI(M), Anil Biswas, also congratulated the Ganashakti workforce and criticised the BJP Government for its policies. ``They are now saying that there should be no holiday on May Day and instead have a state holiday on the day of Vishwakarma Puja. They want us to mark the birthday of Vyasa as Education Day instead of the birth anniversary of S.Radhakrishnan.Now what can you possibly say to such moves except register your protest? And for this, Ganashakti has a major role in spreading the correct message,'' Biswas said. The Politburo member also said that he was happy to announce that the Internet edition of Ganashakti which went on line one-and-a-half months back, was becoming increasingly popular and had been accessed by more than 8,000 Internet users. Also, Biswas announced that Ganashakti, in order to cope with its growing demand, would launch an edition from Siliguri, the nerve centre of North Bengal.