Jyoti Basu first raised voice for more power to states: Karat

With the demand for more power to states rising from many corners of the country now, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today recalled that it was Jyoti Basu who had first raised the demand for restructuring of Centre-state relations.
"We are now hearing about states demanding special status, but it was in the beginning of 1980s that Jyoti Basu first raised his voice for the restructuring of Centre-state relation," he told a programme to mark Basu's birth centenary.
Karat's views were shared by CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose who felt that during the late 70s and 80s Basu's advocacy of more power to states had turned him into a focal point.

He lashed out at the state government for its dilly dallying in holding panchayat polls in the state.
He also hailed Basu's uncompromising fight against communalism.
"Jyoti Basu throughout his life had fought against communalism. During anti-Sikh riots in 1984 and riots in the wake of Babri Masjid demolition, communal harmony in West Bengal had remained in tact under Basu's leadership," he pointed out while paying tribute to him.