KOLKATA: Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of Kolkata to bid a final farewell to Marxist icon Jyoti Basu Tuesday, with many party colleagues breaking into tears. A galaxy of national leaders and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thronged the state funeral that brought West Bengal to a halt.
Basu's reputation as a mass leader was reinforced as a sea of humanity lined the route of his final journey, frantically trying to catch a last glimpse of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader who was India's longest serving chief minister, having presided over West Bengal for 23 long years.
He was accorded a guard of honour and a three-gun salute as part of the emotive funeral at Mohar Kunj, a public park in the heart of the city. After the bugle sounded the last post, the body was donated for medical science to the state-run SSKM Hospital.
The scenes of public adulation were replayed at all the spots - be it the funeral parlour where his body had been kept since his death Sunday, the CPI-M state headquarters at Alimuddin Street, the state secretariat or the assembly.
People peeked from windows and balconies. Many tried to break barricades to get closer to the cortege, leading to minor scuffles with security personnel. Hundreds of party activists carried the hammer-and-sickle red flags as they marched on.
In the assembly, where Basu lay in state, over 200,000 people reportedly filed past his body, and there was a near stampede as the long wait for a last glimpse of their leader made some mourners restive.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina, its former president H.M. Ershad along with ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the dignitaries who paid their last respects to the departed leader.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari on Basu's body.
Sonia Gandhi placed a white wreath, stood for a while and then left. She was accompanied by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Basu had played a key role in influencing the Left to back the Congress-led UPA government when it took office in 2004.
Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani -- otherwise a staunch anti-Communist -- were also present.
Among others who offered floral tributes were BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Janata Dal-United president Sharad Yadav, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Nationalist Congress Party chairman Sharad Pawar and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
The Venezuelan ambassador to India placed a wreath on behalf of his country's president Hugo Chavez.
Touching scenes were witnessed when the hearse carrying Basu's body reached the party headquarters Muzaffar Ahmed Bhavan as all members of the politburo came out, their fists clenched in traditional red salute.
With tears in their eyes, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, his colleagues Sitaram Yechury, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and his Kerala and Tripura counterparts V.S. Achuthananadan and Manik Sarkar carried Basu's body on their shoulders to place it on a makeshift platform raised on the portico.
Basu was the last surviving member of the party's nine-member politburo that founded the CPI-M in 1964.
With small photos of Basu pinned on their chests, the politburo members gave floral tributes. The granddaughters of the Marxist patriarch - Koel, Doel and Payel - broke down as they garlanded Basu.
The cortege moved on. Basu's body was placed on a raised platform in an open truck for better public view. At the Writers' Buildings, the seat of the state government, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee paid floral tributes to the man he succeeded in 2000.
CPI-M cadres in the procession sang "The International", carried 96 flags at half mast to denote his age and held aloft posters that read 'Jyoti Babu, Lal Salam!' besides forming human chains throughout the route.