CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu passes away

Legendary Marxist patriarch and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu passed away on Sunday. He was 95.A founding member of the CPI (M) politburo, Basu died at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata, plunging the city and the country into gloom.He had been admitted to the hospital at the start of the month for respiratory problem.But shortly after that the veteran leftist leader's condition began to worsen.He suffered multiple-organ failure and had to be put on temporary pacemaker after his heartbeat dropped below 50 and his blood pressure plunged alarmingly low.The former chief minister had been on ventilation and life support for much of his time in the hospital. Due to multi-organ failure, dialysis was not of much help either.Basu's son, Chandan, his wife Rakhi and other family members were at the hospital when Basu breathed his last.As he battled against death the who's who of India politics including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on Basu to wish him a speedy recovery.But it was one battle Basu was not destined to win as he passed into the pantheon of India's immortal politicians.