By IANS,
Kolkata : Flowers in hand, hundreds of schoolchildren greeted ailing former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu as he turned 96 Wednesday.
A large number of people from various walks of life assembled outside his home, and the Marxist patriarch reciprocated by spending time with them despite being unwell.
The day was celebrated with songs, dances and speeches by eminent people at Indira Bhavan, the Salt Lake residence of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader.
The ailing nonagenarian extended his wishes for the well-being of the people of the state. “All of you who have come over here are well wishers of the state. You want the state to prosper. I am with you,” he said.
Basu said he was infirm and bed ridden. “I can’t even walk properly but as so many people have come over here, I decided to spend some time with you all.”
Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who called on Basu, said: “I am fortunate enough to have worked under him. This huge gathering proves the respect he commands from the masses.”
Basu, the longest serving chief minister ever in India, presided over West Bengal from 1977 till he retired in late 2000 due to ill-health.
The last of nine politburo members who founded the CPI-M, Basu almost became India’s prime minister in 1996 at the head of a centre-Left United Front government.
But the CPI-M vetoed the proposal, forcing him to dub the party’s decision a “historical blunder”.