Retired? Certainly. Tired? Certainly not. At 94, Jyoti Basu, the grand old comrade, is more visible and assertive than he has ever been since he stepped down from the Chief Minister’s post in November 2000 to hand over charge to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

From the UPA-Left national political crisis to the mystery death of Rizwanur Rehman, from placating an angry Mamata Banerjee to defusing flashpoints over Singur or Nandigram, Basu’s been stepping out of the wings to take centrestage. In the process, many in the party admit, he sometimes takes the load off the Chief Minister but at other times, he leaves many red-faced as well.

Like this week, when he emerged from a crucial meeting of the CPM state committee and told reporters that a decision has been taken to remove “two police officers” involved in the Rizwanur Rehman death case. Bhattacharjee, who also holds the police portfolio, was conspicuously silent. Five days after Basu’s announcement, no action has been taken yet.

The Opposition has been quick to label Basu as the super-Chief Minister. Says Trinamool Congress legislator Saugata Roy: “He’s working as an extra-constitutional centre of authority. Why should he comment on the transfer of two police officers? He can comment on party policies but why meddle in government matters? It harms the system.”

The system, however, party insiders say, is more nuanced than that. A senior CPM leader says that Basu had reason to be upset with Bhattacharjee who modelled his Chief Ministership as the “antithesis” of Basu’s. His constant refrain that he had to make up for the “wasted (read Basu) years” is said to have hurt the grand old man.

... contd.