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Shri
Jyothi
Basu was
truly a
towering
figure
in the
politics
of India
from the
middle
of the
last
century
till his
final
days
said
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
in his
message
of
condolence.
"His
demise
is a
loss to
the
people
of India
as well
as to
all
people
of South
Asia who
look
forward
to such
leadership,
especially
for the
uplift
of the
peasantry
and the
working
people,
and
national
unity
built on
pluralism,"
the
President
further
said.
The full
text of
the
condolence
message:
I am
deeply
grieved
by the
passing
away of
Shri
Jyoti
Basu a
former
Chief
Minister
of West
Bengal
and
leader
of the
Communist
Party of
India
(Marxist).
From his
latter
student
days in
England,
Jyoti
Basu was
involved
in the
struggle
for the
Freedom
of India
and the
rights
of its
working
people.
Since
his
return
to India
in 1940
he was
active
in the
Quit
India
Movement
as a
leftwing
activist,
and from
the time
of
independence
played
major
roles in
both
national
and
regional
politics.
His
membership
in the
West
Bengal
Legislative
Assembly
extended
from
1952 to
1996,
during
which
period
he
served a
record
of more
than 23
years as
its
Chief
Minister.
During
this
period
he saw
the
breakup
of the
Communist
Party of
India
and as
leader
of CPI(M)
he
steered
the
party
away
from the
politics
of
extremism
to that
of
democracy
and
pluralism.
He gave
leadership
to the
most far
reaching
land
reform
legislation
reflecting
the
Gandhian
belief
in land
to the
tiller;
instituted
a
Panchyathi
Raj
System
which
was
radical
for its
time, by
giving
the
peasants
and
small
farmers
a say in
their
affairs;
cooperated
with the
private
sector
to bring
modern
industry
to West
Bengal,
and also
saw West
Bengal
standout
as an
example
of
communal
harmony
and
secular
values
in
India.
Shri
Jyothi
Basu was
truly a
towering
figure
in the
politics
of India
from the
middle
of the
last
century
till his
final
days,
when he
remained
a member
of the
Politbureau
of CPI(M).
His
demise
is a
loss to
the
people
of India
as well
as to
all
people
of South
Asia who
look
forward
to such
leadership,
especially
for the
uplift
of the
peasantry
and the
working
people,
and
national
unity
built on
pluralism.
I send
my own
deepest
sympathies,
and that
of the
people
of Sri
Lanka,
to the
members
of his
bereaved
family
and his
comrades
in the
CPI(M).
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
19th
January
2010
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