Hasina pays tributes to Jyoti Basu

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday paid the last respect to veteran Marxist politician Jyoti Basu, who died in Kolkata on Sunday, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Hasina placed a wreath of white flowers at Basu’s coffin draped in Indian national flag on a makeshift dais at the lobby of West Bengal state assembly building around 1:30pm.

As the prime minister was paying homage, two Indian soldiers stood guard on either side of the dais containing the body of the 95-year-old India’s longest-serving chief minister.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Deputy Leader of Jatiya Sangsad Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, LGRD Minister Syed AshrafuI Islam, JSD leader Hasanul Haq Inu, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Finance Minister Ashim Dasgupta were accompanying Hasina.

Hasina spent about six minutes at the assembly lobby.

Bangladesh’s former president HM Ershad was also a member of the 30-member delegation led by Hasina. Ershad also placed a wreath at the coffin.

Ershad had studied at a school and college in West Bengal’s Coochbehar district.

Earlier, Hasina was received by West Bengal Governor Devanand Konwar, Finance Minister Ashim Dasgupta and State Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarty on her arrival at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at about 12:10pm in a special flight of Bangladesh Air Force.

Hasina returned home in the evening.

Hasina pays tributes to Jyoti Basu

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