Basu was a stalwart, says Advani

Describing veteran Communist leader Jyoti Basu as a stalwart, senior BJP leader LK Advani said the late Marxist was among the greats.

Describing veteran Communist leader Jyoti Basu as a stalwart, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said the late Marxist was among the greats.

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"He was a stalwart... a great leader. He held the CPM fort in West Bengal for a long time," Advani told reporters in Mumbai.

"The Communist movement has been affected. Basu was in the line of great leaders like EMS Namboodiripad, Bhupesh Gupta and Indrajit Gupta," he said.

"Our ideologies were different. Still, going by his greatness, I respect him and pay my tributes," Advani added.

The 95-year-old leader died on Sunday at Kolkata's AMRI Hospital where he was admitted with pneumonia on January one.