Every journalist who has had the opportunity to cover the Communist Party would know that Jyoti Basu is a leader who commands authority. He was never rebuked or questioned by anyone in person. But former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee broke that rule.
Jyoti Basu used to insult Vajpayee's deputy, L.K. Advani, by calling him a “criminal”. While walking on the corridor's of the Writers' building, he was often asked about Advani's barb of lack of development in Bengal due to the long Left rule. Basu would retort, “Don't ask me to respond to comments of a criminal? Who is Advani, do you know? A criminal case of Babri Masjid demolition is pending in court. Till he gets relief, in our eyes he is a criminal.”
Basu continued with such bashing for more than a couple of years till Vajpayee arrived in Kolkata in 1999 to attend a function. Basu, who was the chief minister of Bengal at the time, was at the airport to receive him. Both the leaders exchanged greetings and Vajpayee invited Basu for a meeting at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata later in the evening.
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Basu took Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Somnath Chatterjee along with him to visit Raj Bhavan. But the meeting did not go well for the communist leaders.
Vajpayee reportedly shook hands with all the Marxists and then hit Basu saying, "Jyoti babu why are you calling us criminals? What criminality did you see in us?"
A leader of the CPI(M) said, Basu, apparently for the first time in his long political life, looked perplexed. He responded, "There is nothing personal but political. We cannot accept your political ideology. I never targeted you because I consider you as my good friend and you are different."
Vajpayee responded, "Advaniji is my friend as well and my esteemed colleague is like the leaders accompanying you. If you attack Advaniji, it is the same as attacking me."
The leaders then pacified Vajpayee, who was, as described by few leaders in the CPI(M), as visibly angry.
Finally, the discussion turned to governance and development in the state for which Vajpayee promised uninterrupted support despite political differences. Interestingly, Basu never used such words while criticising the BJP later on.
National Front chairman N.T. Rama Rao, Janata Dal president V.P. Singh, BJP leaders L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee, Surjit Singh Barnala, Ram Vilas Paswan, CPI(M) leaders Jyoti Basu and EMS Namboothiripad and CPI leader C Rajeswara Rao before their meeting to decide mass resignation of opposition members of parliament at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi in July 1989 | Manorama Photo
Later at a function Basu said, "Vajpayee is a very good friend of mine. No doubt he is a good man. I have known him for long. I do not know others in his party and I am not fond of them. But their acts made me call them 'criminals' which Vajpayee did not like and conveyed to me. But I told him my intention was not to hit him."
The duo had been friends from the days of Vajpayee entering Lok Sabha in 1957. Vajpayee used to often visit Bengal to strengthen Jan Sangh. Basu's party then used to be banned most of the time and Vajpayee reportedly used to meet Basu when he was under ground.
It was this bond that convinced Basu to join a coalition with the BJP against Congress under V.P. Singh's leadership. Both the leaders shared stage in Kolkata's Brigade parade Ground in 1989, which the BJP leaders later used to criticise Basu and his party's double standard.
"But such a canard never worked against both of them. Both of them continued to tread their own political paths and became idols for their own parties. The fact remained, they were friends in need and indeed," said a CPI(M) leader in Bengal.