A Not-So-Lal Salaam for Jyoti Basu

As CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu’s life slowly ebbs, his close friends are consoling themselves with heartfelt gratitude that he won’t be around to see the widely expected eclipse of his party in next year’s Assembly polls in West Bengal.

They must be equally thankful that lying in the ICU on a ventilator, he’s also blissfully unaware of the messy politics fracturing his unhappy party. How quickly the CPI(M)’s aura of invincibility has vanished as it sinks into factionalism and internal bickerings in its hour of decline. Some of the ugliness boiled over during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s flying visit to Kolkata last week to call on the ailing Marxist leader.

The West Bengal unit of the party shut out general secretary Prakash Karat and wife Brinda and instead appointed an exclusive reception committee of state leaders to greet the PM. The only non-Bengali to be included was Sitaram Yechury who seems to have acquired the status of an honorary Bong because of his proximity to the Bengal club. (He even speaks the language although he hails from Andhra Pradesh.)

To add insult to injury, the WB leadership drafted in former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee although he was expelled in 2008 for so-called anti-party activities. Yechury is not an early morning person but that day, he rose at the crack of dawn to catch the first flight to be at hand to receive the PM. Karat, an early riser who prefers morning flights, flew in later in the day to arrive only after the PM had left.

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Brinda was understandably upset by her exclusion. Not only is she a Bengali by birth, she is also a member of Rajya Sabha from the state. In addition, she is a Politburo member. But the West Bengal leadership kept her out of the loop. To her chagrin, she found out that she was not among the chosen ones only on the morning the PM was due to arrive.

The SPG came to the hospital and informed all those present that they would have to leave before the VVIP visit. Only members of the reception committee were permitted to stay. Brinda got up and left immediately without saying a word to anyone. But her annoyance was visible to all. The episode has left a bad taste.

The fading out of a towering personality like Jyoti Basu is an opportunity for the divided party to come together in grief and sorrow. Instead, it’s all messed up by petty politics and personality clashes. Even the decision to keep Basu going with a ventilator seems to be driven by politics with the CPI(M) desperately trying to revive its flagging fortunes through a sympathy wave. Prolong the agony to squeeze every last tear.
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TAILPIECE
This year’s holiday calendar may force Pranab Mukherjee to present the budget for 2010-11 on February 26, two days earlier than usual. The conventional budget date, February 28, falls on a Sunday. February 27 will most probably be declared Prophet Mohammed’s birthday. And March 1 is Holi.

Mukherjee has little choice but to advance his preparations and be ready for his big day by February 26. Meanwhile, North Block is gearing up to drop the iron curtain from February 1. From that date till the budget is announced, no visitors will be permitted to enter the finance ministry, especially nosy journalists.