Mourners pay homage as Basu's body lies in state

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI) An endless stream of mourners
filed past the body of former Chief Minister and Communist
Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legend Jyoti Basu draped in the
national tri-colour as it lay in state at the West Bengal
Assembly this morning.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who flew in here,
paid floral tributes to Basu at the Assembly premises. She was
accompanied by Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of West
Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI-M politburo member
Sitaram Yechury were also present on the occasion. Basu will
be given a state funeral with military honours before the
mortal remains are donated to the state-owned SSKM Hospital
for medical research.
Mourners stood in queues stretching half-a-kilometre
with garlands and wreaths to wait their turn for paying
homage.
The body of Basu was brought to the Assembly at 10:10
am after briefly halting at CPI(M)'s state party headquarters
at Alimuddin Street and at state secretariat, Writers'
Buildings, which was his office for 23 years from 1977. The
Chief Minister and Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty
placed wreaths there.
The national tri-colour was draped on the body over
the party's red flag with personnel drawn from the Indian
Army, Navy and Air Force standing at attention. A large
portrait of Basu with folded hands formed the background.
Basu last attended the assembly on February 1, 2001
where he was given a reception by Speaker H A Halim for his
over 50 year of dedicated service to the people.

The body will be taken on a gun carriage escorted by
defence personnel drawn from three services to the
state-run SSKM Hospital from the Assembly at 3:00 pm.
En route to the hospital, he would be given a 21-gun
salute at Mohur Kunj, a park adjacent to the Victoria Memorial
by the Kolkata Police.
95-year-old Basu had died on January 17 of
multi-organ failure. PTI AMR
RDM