By IANS
Kolkata : Communist patriarch Jyoti Basu turned 94 Sunday and urged the opposition at a function here to back the state government's industrialisation policy, saying what the Left government was doing was "not bad after all".
Surrounded by politicians, sportspersons, actors and school children amassed by his protégé and state minister Subhas Chakraborty, the grand old man of Indian politics said: "I take this opportunity to wish our opposition too and urge them to support our industrialisation efforts. All that we are doing is not bad after all."
After making it clear that though communists don't celebrate birthdays – except for party founder Muzaffar Ahmed – he had to give in to the wishes of the irrepressible Subhas Chakraborty, state transport and sports minister.
"We are now on top in agriculture and panchayat rule and fourth in industry. We will emerge top in industrialisation too in a few years. We want to develop small and medium scale industries too. The opposition should support our good work," said the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) stalwart.
"We want to achieve success in industry on the basis of our strong agricultural foundation," said the man who was chief minister for a record 23-years and whose government always epitomised hardline communist opposition wariness against big business and capitalist way.
Basu, whose birthday is ritually observed at his Indira Bhavan residence in Salt Lake by Pather Panchali, a cultural organisation run by Subhas Chakraborty's wife Romola Chakraborty, said of the 80 percent votes that were cast in the last elections in the state the communists had garnered at least 50 percent.
"We have got over 50 percent votes. So there is popular support for us and we are happy that we could form the seventh Left Front government," he said.
"Even when Congress chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy was there and we were in opposition he used to discuss things with me. We were subjected to political persecution, our women activists were shot dead on the streets but we didn't give in," said Basu.
Bengali filmdom's superstar Prosenjit and actress Rituparna Sengupta added zest to the birthday bash at Indira Bhavan with the latter posing with the politician for the frantically clicking photographers.
"I have completed 67 years in politics. I remember returning from England as a barrister and joining the party. I told our party's founder Muzaffar Ahmed that I don't want to be a barrister but join politics," recalled a nostalgic Basu.
"At that time my family was also not used to it. But today I feel satisfied and I wish all on my birthday," said the longest serving Indian chief minister who relinquished his post for successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in 2000 owing to failing health.
Romola Chakraborty later announced the setting up of a committee, including Tollywood formula film director Haranath Chakraborty, to make a documentary on Basu.
"We also want to name the Rajarhat new township after Jyoti Basu," Chakraborty said. It is to be named Jyotinagar.
Born on July 8, 1914, in Kolkata, Jyoti Basu, son of a judge, got his schooling at St. Xavier's School. He graduated from the prestigious Presidency College of Kolkata with an honours degree from the Art Faculty in 1935. After that he travelled to London to study law.
Basu was introduced to the Communist Party of Great Britain through communist leader Bhupesh Gupta.
On return to India, Basu became a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and after the party split he became part of the CPI-M. He was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly, contesting the Railway constituency, in 1946.
Winning elections since then became a habit for Basu. After independence, Basu was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1996.
Jyoti Basu can rightly be termed as the last of the communist poster boys in India's realpolitik as the leftists in Bengal continued to reap the electoral benefits of a foundation he laid in 1977, when under his chief ministership the Left Front government was formed.