CPI (M) patriarch Jyoti Basu passes away

Jyoti Basu

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Communist Party of India (Marxist) patriarch died this morning in a Kolkata hospital, where he was admitted on January 1 for treatment of pneumonia. He was 95.

The end came at 1147 hours this morning after he remained in a critical condition for the last many days.

"I have come to give you bad news. Jyoti Basu is no more with us. He has left us. He is no more in this world," Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Biman Bose told journalists outside the AMRI Hospital, where the party patriarch was undergoing treatment.

"I can't speak more," an emotional Mr Bose said, breaking into sobs. He was  flanked by Mr Basu's son Chandan Basu and other party leaders when he made the announcement.

Apart from his son Chandan, Mr Basu is survived by several grandchildren. Indications were that the funeral will be held on Tuesday.

Thousands of Mr Basu's supporters and admirers gathered outside the AMRI Hospital in Salt Lake as news of Mr Basu's death spread.

Mr Basu's condition had taken a turn for the worse in the past few days and had further deteriorated last night, when doctors put him on a pacemaker.

This morning, senior CPI (M) leaders started arriving at the hospital, including West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Mr Bose.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was also present at the hospital, expressed his sadness about the passing away of Mr Basu.

"He was a colossus who strode the political scene for many decades. It is a great loss for not only for people of West Bengal but for the whole country. He was a great patriot, a great democrat, a great parliamentarian and a great source of inspiration," Mr Chidambaram told mediapersons.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had flown in specially to Kolkata on January 7 to visit Mr Basu in hospital and had offered to fly in specialist doctors from any part of India to treat him.

Born on July 8, 1914, Mr Basu, served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the country's longest-serving Chief Minister of any state in India. He stepped down in 2000 due to health reasons. He also served as a member of CPI(M) Polit Bureau from the year the party was founded in 1964 till 2008, when poor health made him call it a day.

Mr Basu was educated at St Xavier's School and College and Presidency College in Kolkata. He had a B.A. (Honours) in English and became a Bar at Law from Middle Temple, London.

He was initiated into Marxism and politics while he was studying in the United Kingdom. He came in close contact with Harry Pollitt, Rajani Palme Dutt, Ben Bradley and other leaders of the Communist Party of Great Britain at that time.

While in London, he was a member of the India League there, a member of the Federation of Indian Students in Great Britain and Secretary of the London Majlis.

After returning to India, Mr Basu became a member of the Communist Party of India. As a trade unionist, he was an important functionary of the B.A. Railroad Workers' Union and the All India Railwaymen's Federation. He was also part of the leadership of several other trade union organisations.

Mr Basu was Secretary of the West Bengal Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of India from 1952 to 1957.

He was elected for the first time to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946. After Independence, he was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1996.

He was the leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for a decade from 1957 to 1967. He was Deputy Chief Minister in the two United Front Governments in the state in 1967 and 1969.

Mr Basu became Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time on June 21, 1977 and went on to head the Left Front government in the state for five consecutive terms. He finally stepped down from office because of poor health on November 6, 2000.

He was a member of the CPI (M)'s Central Committee and a Special Invitee to its Polit Bureau.

Mr Basu had a chance to become Prime Minister in 1996 when the United Front offered him the top job, but the CPI(M) turned down the offer, a decision that he later described as a "historic blunder".

Mr Basu explained his view to a television channel some years later, pointing out that history never gave such opportunities again.

According to him, if the CPI(M) had taken up the offer, it would have given the party to reach out to larger sections of the people in more parts of the country. He said there were so many sections in various parts of India which were not aware of the party's programmes and policies.

NNN