Sitaram Yechury, the CPM general secretary and a seasoned Left politician, passed away this afternoon. He was 72 years old and receiving treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for pneumonia. On August 19, the CPM leader was brought into AIIMS’s emergency ward and then moved to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Mr. Yechury passed away today at 3:05 PM, according to a statement from the AIIMS. His body was given to AIIMS by his family as a teaching and research donation. After two days at AIIMS, his remains will be moved to the CPM headquarters, AKG Bhavan, so that his supporters and admirers can pay their last respects. The body will then be moved back to AIIMS.
Mr Yechury is survived by his wife and senior journalist Seema Chishti, daughter Akhila and son Daanish. His 34-year-old son, Ashish Yechury, died of Covid in 2021.
A member of CPM’s top decision-making body Politburo for over three decades, Mr Yechury was a Rajya Sabha MP from 2005 to 2017.
An alumnus of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mr Yechury started his political career with the Students’ Federation of India and joined the CPIM in 1975. He was pursuing his doctorate in Economics from JNU when the Indira Gandhi government imposed the Emergency in 1975 and he was arrested along with many other leaders who would later play a key role in national politics. His PhD remained incomplete.
Mr Yechury was elected president of the JNU Student’s Union thrice in a year after he was out of jail. It was during this time that he also met Prakash Karat, who would remain a lifelong comrade.
In 1992, he was elected as a Politburo member. Four years later, he was among the leaders who played a key role in drafting a Common Minimum Programme for the United Front government. Mr Yechury also played a significant role in forging of the ruling coalition for the UPA government in 2004. The veteran leader had good relations with politicians cutting across party lines, making him one of the key leaders instrumental in forging alliances. More recently, he was one of the key leaders at the forefront when Opposition parties came together under the INDIA bloc.
Our beloved comrade #SitaramYechury, General Secretary of CPI(M), passed away at AIIMS today.
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) September 12, 2024
Red Salute to Comrade Sitaram Yechury! pic.twitter.com/COrcQSuj3A
The CPM said in a post on X, “Our beloved comrade #SitaramYechury, General Secretary of CPI(M), passed away at AIIMS today. Red Salute to Comrade Sitaram Yechury!”
Expressing his condolences, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, described him as a “friend” and a “protector of the Idea of India”. “Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend. A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country. I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief.”
Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 12, 2024
A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country.
I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief. pic.twitter.com/6GUuWdmHFj
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Source: NDTV
