By IANS,
New Delhi: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday said the late Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Jyoti Basu was a “rarest of the rare leader” who attained national stature by controlling a state government.
Speaking at a condolence meeting organised here by the CPI-M, Mukherjee said: “He was never a leader of Bengal. He was a national leader. Pragmatism has given him unique place in the contemporary politics.”
Basu, who was the chief minister of West Bengal for 23 years, died in Kolkata Jan 17.
Calling the communist leader a great son of India, the finance minister said: “I have (had) privilege in having close association with Jyoti Basu in 1960s.”
Samajwadi Party leader Mualayam Singh Yadav said, “Had Basu become the prime minister of the country in 1996, the destiny of the country would have been changed”.
He, however, said the non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders should take inspiration from the efforts made by Basu to build another alternative against both these parties.
Apart from top Left leaders, Janata Dal-United’s Sharad Yadav, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah and leaders of various other political parties spoke at the function.