As a young barrister who embraced Communism, Jyoti Basu showed remarkable pragmatism in a dogmatic party that prevented him from becoming prime minister at the height of coalition politics.
The condition of veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Jyoti Basu continued to remain critical on Tuesday with his immunity level deteriorating.
There was no significant improvement in the condition of Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu, battling pneumonia at a Kolkata hospital for the eighth day on Friday, with his line of treatment being endorsed by specialists of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
With the crucial by-election to 10 assembly seats in West Bengal barely nine days away, Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu on Sunday charged Trinamool Congress with joining hands with the Maoists to unleash violence in the state.
"By not attending (the funeral) and justifying her absence, she has insulted the people of Bengal who turned out in lakhs. Now they will have to decide," he told media persons when asked to comment on the Railway minister's absence at the funeral on Tuesday.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday paid tributes to former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, whom they described as a great patriot and an eminent statesman. Both Ansari and Dr Singh visited the AKG Bhawan, the Communist Party of India - Marxist headquarters at Gole Market in New Delhi, at approximately 11 am and paid floral tributes to the departed leader. They were received by CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.
The condition of Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu turned extremely critical on Saturday with all his vital organs affected and there was 'little hope of any good result.'
The former West Bengal chief minister was admitted to Salt Lake's AMRI Hospital on New Year's Day with pneumonia and was shifted to the intensive care unit five days later as he developed sepsis.
Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu on Thursday's night underwent a two-hour haemodialysis after further deterioration in his cardiac and renal functions and his condition was unstable and very critical, his personal physician A K Maity said.
The condition of veteran Communist Party of India - Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Wednesday showed slight improvement but he continued to remain critical. "Basu's blood pressure and pulse are stable at the moment and he has mild fever," said AMRI Hospital Superintendent Dr Debashis Sharma.Basu continues to be on partial ventilation and is being administered blood pressure stabilising drugs ionotrops, he said, adding that his sensorium has shown little improvement.
"His general condition is marginally better than Saturday, but still critical and he is on partial ventilation," Executive Director of private AMRI hospital D N Agarwal told media persons. Agarwal, who gave a break up of the functioning of Basu's vital organs, said, "his central nervous system is better in comparison to Saturday and his cardio-vascular system is more or less stable."
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee visited ailing Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu in a hospital in Kolkata on Saturday evening and said she was praying for the speedy recovery of the 95-year-old leader.
Former West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray on Saturday night died at his south Kolkata residence after a protracted illness.He was 90 and survived by his wife Maya Ray. "Ray was ill for quite a long time and had been on dialysis since March. The end came at about 6:50 pm," his assistant M Kaviraj told PTI.
On its own or with allies the Congress has a strong presence in states that account for a total of 253 LS seats, or 20 short of the magic figure of 272 required to form a government at the Centre. So what is Mamata Banerjee talking about, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
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Former West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray reminisces about his long association with the Communist Party of India-Marxist stalwart Jyoti Basu while flipping through an old album. Indrani Roy Mitra notes down the ruminations.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who paid homage to CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu, described the Marxist patriarch as a politician of "high values" and said he would be missed by all.
A stream of mourners lined up before the Communist Party of India - Marxist of India headquarters and the Indira Bhavan, the official residence of Jyoti Basu, in Kolkata to pay their last respects to the departed leader on Monday. A holiday has been declared in the state government offices as a mark of respect to the veteran Communist leader. A portrait of Basu has been placed on a pedestal in front of the party headquarters to enable mourners to pay floral tributes
It was impossible to get access to Indira Bhavan, Jyoti Basu's residence, without the help of his personal assistant Joykrishna Ghosh. Ghosh worked with the veteran leader for years and the two shared a very special ties.
Recounting her interactions with the veteran leader, Mahasweta Devi told rediff.com on Sunday, 'Basu was a nice gentleman who had the guts to call spade a spade and who was willing to listen to the people'.
Describing Communist stalwart Jyoti Basu as an icon and towering personality in Indian politics, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said his demise had marked the end of an era.
"Personally I have lost my father for the second time in Jyoti Basu's death," former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Sunday said expressing his deep shock over the Marxist patriarch's death.
Paying glowing tribute to former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday described him as the "first and last chapter of the Left Front government".
"I am interested in following in their footsteps. Whatever good job that was left by us should be continued by the Deputy Chief Minister (his son M K Stalin)," the DMK patriarch said at an award function in Chennai. This is the second time in recent months that Karunanidhi has given indications about his exit from active politics.
Former chief minister of West Bengal and Communist Party of India-Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu continued to remain in a critical condition on Monday with doctors attending on him saying that lack of any improvement in his health was 'not a good sign.'
The I-League match between Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers, scheduled to be held at Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake on Thursday, has been postponed due to security concerns.
Jyoti Basu, the 95-year-old communist, has lost touch with many of his comrades. But this morning the former chief minister of West Bengal did not forget to call his favourite Congressman to say, "Happy Birthday!"
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The 89-year-old leader was expelled by the CPI-M after he refused to step down from his position as Speaker holding that the post is above any party politics.
Police and volunteers wore a helpless look as a sea of people poured in from every possible corner of the city. Their sole aim was to be a part of Basu's last rites. "Hope we get to see him just once," said a middle-aged man to his friend, adding "The queue just isn't moving".
Former Lok Sabha Speaker and expelled Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Somnath Chatterjee on Monday said Jyoti Basu, whom he considered as his 'political guru', had asked him to preside over the crucial trust vote debate in the lower house in 2008, saying that the party cannot give any direction to him as he held a constitutional office.
He was a man of great integrity with a deep commitment to secular values, the prime minister said in his condolence message.
CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu has raised a controversy by demanding the inclusion of West Bengal transport minister Subhas Chakraborty in the party Politburo as well as state party secretariat. Basu had earlier pitched for Chakroborty's inclusion to party general secretary Prakash Karat, but the veteran leader had failed to impress Karat in this regard.
While Prakash Karat was re-elected as the general secretary of the CPI-M, veteran leaders Jyoti Basu and Harkishen Singh Surjeet will no longer be part of the party's politburo, but will stay on as senior figureheads. West Bengal ministers Nirupam Sen and Mohammed Amin, and Kerala home and tourism minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan are the new members in the politburo.
Last week, Basu had been quoted as saying, "We want capital, both foreign and domestic. After all, we are working in a capitalist system. Socialism is not possible now." Maintaining that Basu's remarks were on the nature of capitalist development in West Bengal and the role of the Left Front government, party general secretary Prakash Karat said, "On the basis of these reports, some political leaders have also come out with equally confused and misplaced reactions."
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Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Friday welcomed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's readiness to sit with the Tatas to find a solution to the Singur small car factory controversy.
Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on Friday welcomed Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's readiness to sit with the Tatas for finding a solution to the Singur small car factory controversy.
CPI-M leader W R Varadarajan said senior party leaders Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu have requested the party to relieve them from politburo due to their advanced age and immobility. A decision on the request would be made on April 3. Both had urged the CPI-M to relieve them in the last Congress, but the party had requested them to continue as it felt their advice and guidance would be vital.
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