Former West Bengal chief minister and one of the senior most political icons of India Jyoti Basu on Friday said that it is time he should step down as a member of the CPI-M Politburo in view of his failing health and decided against attending the Party Congress slated next month.

“I no longer wish to continue in the party Politburo and have verbally communicated the same to the party leadership”, Mr Basu told newsmen here at the CPI(M) headquarters after attending the party’s state secretariat meeting.

Asked whether the party leadership has taken any decision on his request, he said he has already made it clear that he would not be participating in the forthcoming meeting of the CPI(M) Politburo, slated from February 25 next in New Delhi.  “I will not attend the next month's Party Congress as well," the veteran Marxist leader pointed out and attributed his decision on his old age and failing health which have been restricting his movements.

The CPM patriarch had earlier expressed similar desire, but the party did not allow him to quit, so to say, in view of his invaluable contribution, especially in times of crisis. Basu exuded confidence about an emphatic victory of the Left Front in Tripura which goes to the assembly polls on Saturday.

Ghising is weak

Reacting to the current agitation in Darjeeling hills, Mr Basu said that Subhas Ghising, the caretaker administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, had become “weak and his own partymen have turned against him”. According to him, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has closely been monitoring the situation in the hills and is in touch with the Centre to ensure smooth passage of the Sixth Schedule Bill in Parliament.

Meanwhile, with tension still prevailing in the hills over the demand of the ouster of Ghising from the hill council and an indefinite fast-unto-death launched by the Opposition Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), the beleaguered ‘Sultan’ of the hills flew into the city here on Friday to escape people’s wrath.

The state government which is understood to have advised Mr Ghising not to enter Darjeeling hills in view of a tremendous surge of public emotion against him, has appealed to the GJM leadership to maintain calm.