“Basu is in a critical state. The doctors treating him are concerned. We want him to recover,” he said while addressing a Left Front meeting.

The chief minister said Basu had pneumonia and was not ready to go to the hospital, but looking at his deteriorating condition, the party leaders insisted.

“We took no risk and had him admitted (to hospital) on January 1,” he said. “Doctors at the private AMRI hospital, where Basu was admitted, had consulted specialists of All India Institute of Medical Sciences regarding Basu’s treatment,” he said.

Highlighting the highs and lows of the Left Front government in the past 33 years, Bhattacharjee said the former CM rectified the mistake of removing English from the primary education syllabus on his own initiative.

Accepting that removing English from primary education was wrong, the CM said: “We know how to rectify our mistakes. One of the biggest instances of such rectification is that English was brought back in the syllabus of primary education through Jyoti Basu’s initiative.”

On a different note, he lambasted Trinamool Congress for their alleged alliance with Maoists in the state and said they did not playing the role of a responsible Opposition in the state. “We are saying this time and again that Trinamool has links with Maoists. They have joined hands at every level everywhere,” the chief minister said.

“All we want to say is that what they (Trinamool) are doing is dangerous. You (Trinamool) are inviting a dangerous force,” he said.

“Whenever we call them (the Trinamool) for all party meetings at any level, they refuse. They are not playing the role of a responsible Opposition. They are giving wrong political message,” he said.

Basu still on partial ventilation

1 pm: The day’s first health bulletin on former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu indicated further deterioration in his condition. The bulletin by AMRI said Basu’s internal organ has started getting affected.

8 pm: A second bulletin issued by the hospital did not hint at any positive development.

The evening bulletin said besides his heart and lung, Basu’s kidney functioning is also under close watch since evening. Hospital spokesperson D N Agarwal said Basu’s condition remains critical — his urine output has increased slightly after medication but he is still under partial ventilation.

His cardiac condition is normal, Agarwal said.

As news spread about Basu’s condition worsening, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose were among the top leaders who rushed to AMRI.