New Delhi: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata
Banerjee has "insulted" the people of West Bengal by not
attending the funeral of Marxist stalwart Jyoti Basu, CPI(M)
leader Sitaram Yechury said on Thursday.
"By not attending (the funeral) and justifying her
absence, she has insulted the people of Bengal who turned out
in lakhs. Now they will have to decide," he told reporters
when asked to comment on the Railway Minister's absence at the
funeral on Tuesday.
He said despite serious political differences, it was a
culture not only in India but abroad also that "you be present
on such occasions. It is also elementary human decency and a
matter of courtesy and political morality".
Yechury said the fact that so many people turned out in
such large numbers reflected the popularity of the great
leader.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 23:43