Basu leaves a void that can’t be filled: Gowda

BANGALORE - Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda said Sunday that the death of Marxist icon Jyoti Basu had left a void in the nation’s life that cannot be filled.

“The country will sorely miss his wise counsel,” Gowda said in his hometown Hassan, about 180 km from here. “Basu played a prominent role in my becoming prime minister,” said Gowda, who held the office in 1996-97.