Left parties mourn Jyoti Basu's death

The Left parties today mourned the demise of veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, describing him as a tall leader who fought for the downtrodden and said his death was a loss to the Left movement.
    
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader AB Bardhan said Basu was the "tallest leader".

"He also fought to the end. We express our heartfelt sadness on his demise," Bardhan said.
    
"Basu fought for the poor and the downtrodden," he said.

As condolences poured from all over, the All India Forward Bloc described the passing away of Basu as a "a big and irreparable loss... for the entire Left, working class and progressive movement of the country".

Party general secretary Debabrata Biswas said in a statement that the contribution of the "pragmatic architect of modern Bengal" in building the Left movement in the country will be remembered forever.

"He was an icon of working class movement and a model for good governance. He was an able administrator and good human being.

"His rule of more than quarter century has changed the face of rural Bengal and paved the path for agriculture and industrial development," he said.