Basu, who was addressing a meeting in connection with the observance of the "Women Martyrs Day" in Calcutta on April 28 said that the CPI(M) had always wanted the communal BJP to go out of power for its continued existence would result in the country being split into fragments. The sooner it was removed from power the better it was for the country. So this communal government of the BJP has been voted out of power enabling the secular forces to advance one step in their mission. It was however unfortunate that the Congress belied the expectations failing to discharge its responsibility. It was also unfortunate that a breach showed up in the opposition unity. Several opposition leaders were persuaded by the CPI(M) to change their stance but these were of no avail.

In the meantime, some of the leaders of different political parties came up with a proposal to Jyoti Basu him as the next Prime Minister to resolve the political impasse over formation of the new government. Basu said, he tried to argue with them over the proposal for it was not that simple. But they remained firm stating that leadership problem of the government would be resolved in no time if Basu was made the Prime Minister.

What was the point Basu tried to argue with the opposition party leaders? Basu wanted to drive home the point that the western imperialist powers would not accept a leader of the CPI(M) becoming the Prime Minister of India. There is the question of influencing the economy of he country. Western powers would also not like to have heir powers reduced under the new dispensation and that too with a CPI(M) Prime Minister at the helm of affairs. An anguished Basu said politics is not that easy.

Giving another example closer home in West Bengal, Basu cited the West Bengal Assembly election results in 1971 in which he CPI(M) was two short of a single party majority. The Forward Bloc and the RSP were not with the CPI(M) led front then. The two parties had their MLAs but their leaders told the then West Bengal governor that they would not support a government formed by the CPI(M). However, despite the CPI(M) becoming the largest party in the Assembly, it was not called by the Governor to form the government. Years later Basu came to know from a book written by the former American ambassador in India, Mr Patrick Moinyhan that the USA had till then intervened in Indian polities twice; once in 1957, to throw out of power the Marxist government in Kerala and later in West Bengal in 1971 - to prevent the Communists from forming the government in the state of West Bengal. Moinyhan has written in the book that the USA had given money to the Congress on these two occasions.