New Delhi. Comrade Sitaram Yechury, one of the brightest stars of India’s modern leftist politics, has passed away. Yechury, the general secretary of the country’s largest communist party CPM, died on Thursday at the age of 72. He was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 after complaining of pneumonia. He was undergoing treatment for 25 days. After his death, the family donated his body to the hospital. He is survived by his wife Seema Chishti and a son and a daughter. One of his sons died in 2021 during the time of Corona. He was the general secretary of CPM thrice.
A statement issued by the CPM said that Comrade Sitaram Yechury had a serious infection in the respiratory tract. A team of doctors was treating him. Sitaram Yechury, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, was also the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union and at a very young age he got a place in the Central Committee of the CPM. He was a Rajya Sabha MP twice and played an important role in uniting the opposition parties in anti-BJP politics. He was considered a practical and flexible leader as compared to his predecessor General Secretary Prakash Karat.
However, a few days ago, former West Bengal Chief Minister Comrade Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away. Yechury paid tribute to Buddhadeb Babu from AIIMS itself on August 22. He said in a video message of about six minutes – It is very unfortunate that I have to express my feelings for Buddho da and say Lal Salaam from AIIMS itself. On August 23, Yechury posted on social media about the electoral alliance of CPM, Congress and National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir. He also posted a condolence message on the death of AG Noorani on August 29.
However, leaders across the country have condoled his death. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said- Sitaram Yechury was my good friend. He was a true protector of the idea of India and understood the country very well. I will miss the long discussions with him. My deepest condolences to his family in this hour of grief. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condoled his death.