19 Jan : Kolkata emptied out on the roads leading to the Assembly House to get a last glimpse of the legendary Marxist leader Jyoti Basu as he embarked on his final journey on Tuesday and leaders from across the political spectrum gathered in Kolkata to pay him their last respects.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee paid their last respects to the the departed soul in State Assembly in Kolkata.
CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chaterjee, Left Front chairman Biman Bose, CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan , RJD Chief Lalu Prasad were among a host of luminaries, who paid their last respect to the departed Communist leader.
Senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav also paid their respects to the departed soul.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda also paid his last respects and described Marxist patriarch’s demise as a national loss.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with several Cabinet Ministers also paid their respects to Basu.
Ruling Awami League led Grand Alliance partners Jatiyo Party chief and former President H M Ershad, Worker’s Party chief Rashed Khan, were among others who accompanied Hasina.
The last respects paid in Assembly have concluded and Late Jyoti Basu’s final journey has begun from Assembly to citizen Park, where state police offered a gun salute to the former Chief Minister before handing over his body to SSKM Hospital.
The last respects paid in Assembly have concluded and Late Jyoti Basu’s final journey has begun from Assembly to citizen Park, where state police offered a gun salute to the former chief minister before handing over his body to SSKM Hospital.
Earlier, thousands of mourners filled the streets of Kolkata as the body of Marxist legend Jyoti Basu was taken out of a funeral parlour for the last journey.
The procession began around 8 am from the CPI(M) party headquarters at Alimuddin Street.
A large crowd had gathered on both sides of the A J C Bose Road.
The body was lowered from the hearse by CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Left Front chairman Biman Bose and other senior leaders and placed on a platform.