Search the Internet           Tips

Basu to step down in November

It's now official. Come November, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu will finally quit. The octogenarian Marxist told reporters at Writers' Building on Friday afternoon that he would be stepping down in the first week of November.

"I have been asking my party leaders to relieve me from administrative hassles since December last year, but they wanted me to continue. And now, I do not think there will be any problem with my retirement. I have not been keeping well for long. It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to continue. The new cabinet will be sworn in the first week of November," India's longest-serving CM remarked.

Governor Viren J Shah is currently not in the state and he is expected to return by this week-end. The new cabinet will be finalised only after he returns.

Basu also said that the matter will be formally discussed on Saturday in the Left Front's meeting in Calcutta. However, sources said that the Front partners would only be deciding the date.

"I have been the chief minister of not only the Communist Party of India-Marxist, but also the Left Front. I am confident there will not be any difficulties this time," Basu added.

It is learnt that the CPI-M's special session in Kerala recently discussed Basu's retirement before deciding unanimously that the aging leader should be allowed to bid farewell to active politics.

Basu made it clear that his stepping down wouldn't mean he was quitting active politics. According to him, he will continue to work for the party and even campaign in next year's assembly elections.

In an exclusive interview to rediff.com last month, Basu had said that he wanted to retire on September 15, but his party leaders asked him to continue for some more time since CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet was in China.

State Home (police) Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya will be Basu's successor.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report