BJP condoles Basu's demise

BJP today condoled the death of veteran Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu, describing him as one of the tallest contemporary leaders of Indian politics.

Senior BJP leader and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, said Basu was a man "committed to the service of his people, his ideology and a sense of idealism."

"Jyoti Basu was one of the tallest contemporary leaders of Indian politics," Jaitley said.

95-year-old Basu died at a Kolkata hospital after battling multi-organ failure.

"He was a politician of high credibility whose loss will be felt by the entire nation," Jaitley said on West Bengal's longest serving chief minister.

"BJP deeply mourns his death," he said.