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Kolkata: Veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu on July 8 opposed any out-of-court settlement for the vexed Ayodhya problem and said it should be settled only by the apex court.

Answering questions ranging from Ayodhya to the formation of a United Front and the future of communism in India, Basu said after his 90th birthday celebrations at his residence that the vexed Ayodhya problem should be settled by the apex court.

''Whatever the Supreme Court says should be final. This was our party's stand since the beginning," he said.

The nanogerian Marxist leader said ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Centre was one of the unfulfilled dreams that he wanted to realise in the fag end of his life, as the saffron party had "vitiated the communal fabric of the country".

Coming down heavily on the BJP, the veteran leader said, "As I age, I think the only wish I now have is to oust the communal forces ruling at the Centre in a political battle."

Describing BJP as his party's "prime enemy", Basu said, "We know we can not remove them alone. But if we come together with like-minded parties, the task would be easier. In states where we don't have a presence, we would ask people to support the Congress in future elections."

The veteran Marxist leader also criticised the economic policies of the Vajpayee government and said that it had "completely destroyed the economic fabric of the country by opening the floodgates for American companies".

PTI