That Doesn’t Seem Very Labor Friendly…
By Communist leaders across the world are not keen on retirement, and veteran Indian Marxist Jyoti Basu is being told by comrades not to break the tradition.
On Wednesday the 93-year-old pleaded with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo to be allowed to retire in view of his advanced age.
But the politburo turned down his request with a resounding “nyet”. They have told the veteran West Bengal politician that he must remain active in politics at least until 2008.
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The veteran leader, who was chief minister of the West Bengal for 22 years from 1978, was not very amused. “I am feeling very weak at times these days,” he said while he walked past journalists, helped by his long-time assistant Joy Krishna Ghosh. Jyoti Basu recently injured his right leg after a fall at his Salt Lake residence in Calcutta.