India Inc today condoled the sad demise of veteran CPI(M) leader and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu.
"With the sad demise of Basu, India and CPI(M) have lost a great politician, social worker and intellectual par excellence of mellowed wisdom and diversified experience and talent as well," Assocham President Swati Piramal said in a condolence message.
The Assocham said his death has created a vacuum which is unlikely to be fulfilled. "India and the Indian industry will remember the great leader for his enormous contribution in all walks of life and particularly for his initiative to introduce land reforms," it said.
Conveying condolences, CII President Venu Srinivasan said that with the passing away of Jyoti Basu, the nation has lost a visionary and a leader of stature.
"Jyoti Basu served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal between 1977 and 2000. During his tenure, the state has made significant progress towards inclusive growth and development," he said.
Basu died on Sunday of multi-organ failure after being struck by pneumonia 17 days ago. The former West Bengal Chief Minister was 95 and is survived by son Chandan. His wife Kamal pre-deceased him four years ago.
"He was a tall leader who could have been Prime Minister of India in 1996. The industry had lots of differnces with him but he a was a stellar Bengali Bhadralok who always engaged in dialogue and understanding of the other point of view," Ficci Secretary General Amit Mitra said.