And yet, the Basu-Bhattacharjee relationship couldn’t be more complex.

“Sometimes it’s like a good cop (Basu)-bad cop (Buddhadeb) routine,” says a party insider who knows both the leaders. “In fact, Basu may seem to be critical of the government but every time he intervenes, he knows that it’s Bhattacharjee who has and who should have the last word.”

So when Nandigram snowballed earlier this year, Bhattacharjee wanted an all-party meeting to discuss the issue but Mamata Banerjee repeatedly spurned his invitation. Basu was roped in to speak with her.

Mamata told Basu that the government should return land of those Singur farmers who were not willing to move. Basu came out of the meeting and said he saw “logic” in Mamata’s demand. This comment got Singur smoldering again — giving in to Mamata’s demand meant virtually stalling the Tata project. The very next day, worried Ministers and CPM leaders rushed to Basu to explain why her demand couldn’t be met — Basu promptly took back his words.

Is Basu a super-Chief Minister? “It doesn’t matter, government is government and Jyoti Basu is Jyoti Basu,” says Hasim Abdul Halim, Speaker of the Assembly for an unbroken 25 years. Speaking from Geneva, he told The Indian Express: “He can advise the government but, obviously, he is not running the government. He is our political guardian and guide.”

Ironically, Basu is also a source of strength for the Opposition, too. After the March 14 police firing on Nandigram farmers, in which 14 people died, a cornered government, facing severe criticism, claimed the police had been attacked by an armed mob and had fired in self defence.

... contd.