Veteran CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury dies at 72 after prolonged illness

New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday following prolonged illness, hospital and party sources said. He was 72.

Yechury had been in a critical condition for the last few days and was on respiratory support. The veteran leader died at 3.05 pm, sources said. The CPI(M) had said earlier that the 72-year-old leader was being treated for an acute respiratory tract infection at the ICU in AIIMS, Delhi.

Yechury was admitted to the hospital on August 19 for treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection. He was critical and on oxygen support. The sources said he had a fungal infection in his lungs.

The leader, who started from the student's union of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as a member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and went on to become a member of the Central Committee of the CPI(M) in 1984, got elected to the Politburo in 1992. He also served as the Editor of Student Struggle from 1980 to 1986.

He served as a Rajya Sabha MP for 12 years, from 2005 to 2017. He became the fifth general secretary of the CPI(M) at the 21st party congress in Visakhapatnam on April 19, 2015, and took over from Prakash Karat. He also played a significant role in the joint opposition's INDIA bloc. He was seen among the political mentors of Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Left leaders pay tribute to Yechury

The CPI(M) on Thursday expressed profound grief over the death of its general secretary Sitaram Yechury and described it as a big blow for the Left, democratic and secular forces. The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Comrade Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Party on September 12, 2024.

The party described him as an outstanding leader of the Left movement and a well-known Marxist ideologue. "The untimely demise of Sitaram Yechury at this crucial juncture in our national politics is a big blow for the CPI(M) and a grievous loss for the Left, democratic and secular forces. The Polit Bureau pays respectful homage to our beloved colleague and dips the red banner in his memory," the statement said. "The Polit Bureau calls upon all party ranks to unite and work harder to advance the struggle for an exploitation-free society. This is the best tribute that can be paid to him," it said.

The CPI(M) also conveyed its deepest sympathy and condolences to Yechury's wife Seema, his daughter Akhila, son Danish, brother Shankar and all other family members.

Paying tributes to the Marxist leader, CPI General Secretary D Raja recalled his decades-long association with Yechury and said he is deeply aggrieved. "Sitaram was one of the most outstanding leaders of the Left and Communist movement in contemporary times," he said.

"My association with him went back decades when he was in the students' movement and I was working in the AIYF. After coming to the national centre, we worked together in many forums like the steering committee of the United Front government and later in shaping the common minimum programme of the UPA-1," Raja said in a post on X.

"Our tenure in Parliament also coincided and we worked in close coordination articulating the positions of the Left in the Upper House. After becoming general secretaries of the CPI and CPI(M), we further worked together for the unity of Left, secular and democratic forces," the CPI leader said. Describing Yechury as a lucid writer, able parliamentarian and capable leader, Raja said his loss will be felt in Left and democratic circles.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, in a post on X, termed Yechury's death a "great loss for every Indian fighting in defence of democracy".

In a post on X, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) paid tributes to the Left leader and said, "Adieu Comrade Sitaram Yechury. Students' Federation of India dips its banner in honour of our beloved comrade, former All India President of SFI and General Secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury". In a statement, the SFI said Yechury's contributions will always be a source of inspiration for those fighting for democratic ideas.

The CPI(M), in its statement, said Yechury played an important role in formulating the political positions of the party from time to time. "It was in the field of ideology that Sitaram played a distinctive role," it said. The party added that in the recent period, Yechury devoted a lot of his time and energy towards forging a broad unity of secular opposition parties, which took the shape of the INDIA bloc.

"In both the period of the United Front government and later the UPA government, Sitaram was one of the key interlocutors for the CPI(M), which was supporting these coalitions," the CPI(M) said. "Given his amiable temperament, he had a wide circle of friends across the political spectrum and in all walks of life. He was respected by all for his political integrity and commitment," it added.

Paying tribute to Yechury, All India Forward Bloc said he was widely regarded as the foremost leader in today's leftist political movement.

"His sudden demise is an irreparable loss not only to the CPI(M) but also to the left and progressive movement of the country... The All India Forward Bloc while cherishing the illustrious memories of Comrade Sitaram Yechury pays rich tributes and joins the sorrow of entire the rank and file of CPI (M) and all those who mourn his loss," it said.