Buddhadev meets Basu

Hours after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's meeting with veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee met the Marxist patriarch on Sunday night at his Salt Lake residence.

CPI(M) sources said that Basu told the Chief Minister about what he had discussed with Chatterjee and also the meeting External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had with him earlier in the day.

Emerging from the brief meeting, the Chief Minister drove away without speaking to waiting mediamen.

Chatterjee had airdashed here this morning to meet Basu. During the discussion they had, the issue of his quitting the Speaker's office had figured, a party insider said.

According to him, Basu advised Chatterjee to follow the party line.

The External Affairs Minister, during his 50-minute meeting, explained to Basu the circumstances that led to the collapse of the UPA-Left coalition.