On Thursday, Veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury passed away. He was 72. Yechury had been receiving the treatment for a severe respiratory infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. CPI(M) said on X, “It is with profound grief that we announce the passing away of CPIM General Secretary, our beloved Comrade Sitaram Yechury, at 3.03 pm today, 12th September, at the AIIMS, New Delhi”.
“We thank the doctors, nursing staff and the Director of the Institute for the excellent treatment and care extended to Comrade Yechury.” Yechury, who was admitted to AIIMS on August 19, had been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was on oxygen support as his condition was being closely monitored by a multidisciplinary team of doctors.
On Tuesday, the CPI(M) confirmed that the senior leader was battling an acute respiratory tract infection, which had worsened into a pneumonia-like condition. His condition was reported as ‘critical but stable’ on Wednesday. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Sitaram Yechury – a very fine human being, a multilingual bibliophile, an unrepentant Marxist with a pragmatic streak, a pillar of the CPM, and a superb Parliamentarian with a wonderful wit and sense of humour – is most sadly no more.”
“Our association stretched over three decades, and we collaborated closely at different occasions. He had friends across the political spectrum and was admired for the strength of his convictions and for his most engaging personality,” Ramesh said. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee posted on X: “Sad to hear about the passing of veteran CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury. While our political ideologies often clashed, I had the privilege of interacting with him during several opposition meetings over the last couple of years. His simplicity, profound understanding of public policy and keen insight into parliamentary affairs were truly remarkable. My thoughts are with his family, friends and all those who admired him. May his soul find peace. Om Shanti!”
Sitaram Yechury first became involved in student activism while pursuing his education at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, where he was elected president of the Students’ Union. It was here that Yechury’s political ideology began to take root, as he embraced Marxist principles and became a member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M).
Yechury was born in Chennai and studied at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and Jawaharlal Nehru University, was a trusted ally of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Manmohan Singh’s 10 years as prime minister. He was the first non-Congress leader Gandhi called after she met the then president APJ Abdul Kalam in the year 2004 when she turned down the post of prime minister and rallied for Singh.
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