New Delhi, Jan 17 (Inditop.com) Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja paid glowing tributes to Communist patriarch Jyoti Basu Sunday, saying he could have proved to be a great prime minister.

“He (Basu) proved that the coalition of Left parties would work successfully and serve the people greatly. He could have proved to be a great prime minister also,” Raja said.

In 1996, the centre-Left United Front asked Basu to lead the central government as prime minister. But the CPI-M declined the offer saying it would not head a national government whose policies it would not control.