Kolkata, Aug 4 (IANS) The city virtually came to a standstill as a mass of people Tuesday evening joined the funeral procession of West Bengal minister Subhas Chakraborty, one of the most popular leaders of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
Around 8.30 p.m., Chakraborty’s mortal remains were consigned to flames at a state funeral at the Keoratala Ghat, amid wailing and shouts of “Subhas Chakraborty Amar Rahe”, as 67 CPI-M activists stood in silence carrying the lowered red flags.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, party politburo member Sitaram Yechuri, state party secretary and ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose and countless admirers of the departed leader were present during the funeral as state police jawans reversed their arms and gave a three-gun salute to him.

Communist cadres sang “The International” as the flower-bedecked body was taken out of the carriage and put on a pedestal for the leaders to pay their homage before being put in the electric crematorium.

Transport and Sports Minister Chakraborty, 67, died in a hospital Monday following multi-organ failure after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Considered a go-getter, Chakraborty was known for publicly airing controversial views - many of which were against the official line of the regimented CPI-M - but his huge support base remained intact due to his ability to mix with people from all walks of life and his helpful nature.

Through the day, thousands of mourners wept and showered petals and garlands as Chakraborty’s body was taken through North 24 Parganas district and the metropolis.

From a 92-year-old woman who persuaded her relatives to carry her to Chakraborty’s ancestral residence at Dum Dum Private Road for a final glimpse of the leader to Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty, the commoners and the famous lined up both sides of the route of the funeral cortege.

Sportspersons including footballer Sailen Manna, former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, cultural personalities like singer Usha Uthup, top leaders of the CPI-M and other political parties as also common people - many of whom had been helped by Chakraborty during crisis times - paid their last respects.

Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission, who expressed their gratitude for Chakraborty’s support for their projects, garlanded the body.

The procession covered wide stretches touching his Salt Lake residence, besides making several unscheduled halts following public demand.

Makeshift platforms came up along the route. There were banners with quotes from Chakraborty’s favourite Tagore poems.

A large number of people waited at the sprawling Salt Lake Stadium, built at Chakraborty’s initiative despite a fund crunch, where the body reached well past noon.

As the cortege reached the state secretariat Writers’ Buildings, the chief minister, his cabinet colleagues, government officers and employees garlanded their late colleague who had been a minister for the last 27 years.

At the state assembly, former chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Roy and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee were among those who paid floral tributes. Former International Cricket Council chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, and a large number of sports personalities were among the milling crowd at the next stop - the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

There were touching scenes at the CPI-M headquarters at Alimuddin Street, as weather-beaten communist veterans could not hold back tears and hugged one another in an effort to console themselves.