Life blows its final whistle on Sitaram Yechury

New Delhi: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury breathed his last at AIIMS here on Thursday afternoon after battling respiratory complications with his party calling his passing away as a big blow for the Left, democratic and secular forces.

The 72-year-old's body will be donated to AIIMS for teaching and research purposes as per his wishes.

Yechury, who was admitted to AIIMS on August 19, had been in a critical condition for over a week and was on respiratory support. He was being treated for an acute respiratory tract infection, the party had said.

Announcing his death which occurred at 3.03 PM, the CPI(M) said he was suffering from a respiratory tract infection which developed complications, CPI(M) said in a post on X.

It said Yechury's body would be taken to his residence on Friday evening and then to party headquarters on Saturday at 11 AM for public to pay homage. The body will handed over to AIIMS after 3 PM.

He is survived by his journalist-wife Seema Chishti, the editor of news portal The Wire, a daughter and a son. One of his sons Ashish Yechury passed away due to Covid-19 in 2021. He was earlier married to Indrani Mazumdar.

One who was part of the CPI(M) central leadership for 39 years, the CPI(M) said he 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 pointing out to the resolutions moved by him 'On Certain Ideological Issues' at the 14th Party Congress in 1992 and one which updated the ideological positions adopted at the 20th Party Congress in 2012.

He was also the Editor of the Party’s weekly paper, People’s Democracy, for over two decades. It said Yechury was the "topmost" leader of the CPI(M), an outstanding leader of the Left movement and a well-known Marxist ideologue.

Condolences poured from across the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling Yechury a "leading light of the Left" and one who was known for his ability to connect across the political spectrum. He also made a mark as an effective Parliamentarian, he said.

Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who used to address Yechury as "chief", said the CPI(M) General Secretary was "a friend" and a "protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding" of India. "I will miss the long discussions we used to have," he said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "He was a humble leader who chartered the unique territory of balancing personal equations with unflinching political ideologies. An excellent Parliamentarian and an outstanding intellectual, he served the people of India with pragmatism blended with idealism. It is a great loss for all the liberal forces, for he was the collective conscience keeper of progressives."

While in hospital, Yechury had paid tribute to former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee through a video on August 22, saying it was his loss that he was not able to physically attend this memorial meeting and pay homage to him.