Sitaram Yechury was undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi for an acute respiratory tract infection.
Sitaram Yechury succeeded Prakash Karat as the general secretary of the CPM in 2015.
CPI(M) general secretary and former Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, where he was admitted on August 19 with pneumonia. He was 72.
According to CPI(M) leaders, Yechury was in the intensive care unit (ICU) and was being treated for an acute respiratory tract infection. Over the past few days, he had been on respiratory support and under treatment by a multidisciplinary team of doctors with his condition reported to be critical.
He is survived by his wife Seema Chishti, editor of The Wire, daughter Akhila and son Danish.
His family has donated his body to AIIMS, New Delhi for teaching and research purposes. His body will be handed over to the hospital on Saturday.
Yechury’s body will be taken from AIIMS to his residence in Delhi on Friday, and will be kept there overnight. His body will be taken to the CPI(M) central committee office Saturday morning for public viewing and will be handed over to AIIMS later in the evening.
Offering his condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that Yechury was a “leading light of the Left” and was “known for his ability to connect across the political spectrum.” The PM added that Yechury made a mark as an effective Parliamentarian.
President Droupadi Murmu expressed her grief over the demise of Yechury. “First as a student leader and then in national politics and as a parliamentarian, he had a distinct and influential voice. Though a committed ideologue, he won friends cutting across the party lines. My heartfelt condolences to his family and colleagues,” the President said in her condolence message.
Calling Yechury a “powerful champion of secularism”, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said he played a pivotal role in UPA-1, and more recently contributed enormously to the emergence of the INDIA group in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “He will be sorely missed,” Gandhi said.
Yechury succeeded Prakash Karat as the general secretary of the CPM in 2015.
Yechury had learnt the ropes under late party leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet, who played major roles in the coalition era governance, first during the National Front government of V P Singh and then the United Front government of 1996-97, both of which the CPI(M) had supported from outside.
Watch from Express Archive: Sitaram Yechury on crony capitalism
Yechury further honed his skills when the Left parties backed the first UPA government often putting pressure on the Congress-led regime in policy-making.
He had also played a critical role in the talks with the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal that led to the Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA-I government because of Karat’s stubborn stand.
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