India bids adieu to Jyoti Basu

 

LAAL SALAM COMRADE JYOTHI BABU....

Former Chief Minister of West Bengal, the late Jyoti Basu received a military guard of honour accompanied by a formal gun salute by the Kolkata Police here on Tuesday before his body was handed over to the authorities of the Institute of post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), as he had pledged his body to medical research.

A military escort of pallbearers brought the body, mounted on a gun carriage, from the West Bengal Legislative Assembly to Mohur Kunj, a citizen park, where a police contingent waited to present the guard of honour.

A huge crowd of supporters and admirers of the veteran Marxist leader followed the body on foot to the destination, where hundreds had already assembled. Pressing against police barricades, the milling crowds chanted slogans and bid their last “Laal salam” to their beloved leader.

In a solemn ceremony, attended by several dignitaries and senior leaders of the CPI(M) and other Left parties, a two-minute silence was observed and three volleys were fired.

The body was then taken away to its final destination, IPGMER. Biman Bose, Secretary of the West Bengal State Committee of the CPI(M) later handed over the consent documents to Pradip Mitra, Director of IPGMER and other officials of the institute, and received a certificate in return.

IANS adds

Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Kolkata to bid a final farewell to Marxist icon the late Jyoti Basu on Tuesday, with many party colleagues breaking into tears. A galaxy of national leaders and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thronged the state funeral that brought West Bengal to a halt.

People peeked from windows and balconies. Many tried to break barricades to get closer to the cortege, leading to minor scuffles with security personnel. Hundreds of party activists carried the hammer-and-sickle red flags as they marched on.

In the assembly, where the late Basu lay in state, over 200,000 people reportedly filed past his body, and there was a near stampede as the long wait for a last glimpse of their leader made some mourners restive.

Leaders pay homage

Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina, its former president H.M. Ershad along with ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the dignitaries who paid their last respects to the departed leader.

Wreaths were laid on behalf of President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari on Basu's body.

Ms. Sonia Gandhi placed a white wreath, stood for a while and then left. She was accompanied by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani were also present.

Among others who offered floral tributes were BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Nationalist Congress Party chairman Sharad Pawar and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

The Venezuelan ambassador to India placed a wreath on behalf of his country's president Hugo Chavez.

A tearful farewell

Touching scenes were witnessed when the hearse carrying the late Jyoti Basu's body reached the party headquarters Muzaffar Ahmed Bhavan as all members of the politburo came out, their fists clenched in traditional red salute.

With tears in their eyes, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, his colleagues Sitaram Yechury, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and his Kerala and Tripura counterparts V.S. Achuthananadan and Manik Sarkar carried the late Basu's body on their shoulders to place it on a makeshift platform raised on the portico.

The late Jyoti Basu was the last surviving member of the party's nine-member politburo that founded the CPI(M) in 1964.

With small photos of the late Jyoti Basu pinned on their chests, the politburo members gave floral tributes. The granddaughters of the Marxist patriarch - Koel, Doel and Payel - broke down as they garlanded him.

The cortege moved on. The late Jyoti Basu's body was placed on a raised platform in an open truck for better public view. At the Writers' Buildings, the seat of the state government, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee paid floral tributes to the man he succeeded in 2000.

CPI(M) cadres in the procession sang "The International", carried 96 flags at half mast to denote his age and held aloft posters that read 'Jyoti Babu, Lal Salam!' besides forming human chains throughout the route.