CPM leader Jyoti Basu passes away at 95

Former chief minister of West Bengal and veteran communist Jyoti Basu passed away on Sunday at 11.47 am. at the Salt Lake City Hospital. The veteran leader aging, 95 was suffering from multi organ failure and every attempt to revive him failed. For the last 17 days he was struggling for life with his failing organs at a city Hospital. India joined Kolkata and West Bengal praying for life of Jyoti Basu a scene Bengal witnessed a long after death of Satyajit Ray. With death of Basu, Bengal and CPM lost a voice that Delhi could hardly  ignore.
 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Basu one of the "great sons of India". Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reached Kolkata to pay tribute to senior most CPM leader. Mukherjee called Basu  a “colossus" in Indian politics. Film maker Mrinal Sen said that his death marked the end of an era in Indian Politics. CPM leaders confirmed that last journey of veteran leader will begin on Tuesday.
In a political career of seven decades, Jyoti Basu never crossed the party line except once. He never contested the Lok Sabha polls, but always influenced national politics till the end.

His father was a US trained doctor and he received education from elite institutions (Loreto, St Xavier’s School and Presidency College), few persons had expected Jyoti Basu to grow into one of the most important communist leaders of his time. Even in his last days, confined to a bed, Jyoti Basu had the power to influence national politics. The charismatic leader was confined to his home for the last two years due to his age and failing health. But that only made Indira Bhavan a must visit for  top politicians from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.
Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, who hardly talks to anyone in the CPM, has been to Indira Bhavan on quite a few occasions. With Basu’s passing, the West Bengal CPM lost the metal it had inherited since the days of the undivided CPI. He was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946, and became one of the driving forces behind the transformation of Indian communists from the days of ‘yeh azadi jhootha hai’ (this is fake Independence) to playing an integral role in the parliamentary system. This state level politician has effected national politics several times and gathered attention at national level. His meteoric rise did not escape the notice of chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy