CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passes away due to pneumonia
New Delhi [India], September 12 (ANI): Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday due to pneumonia.
Yechury was admitted to the AIIMS in Delhi on August 19, 2024. He had been first admitted to the emergency ward and then shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
"Sitaram Yechury CPI(M) General Secretary no more. He was admitted in AIIMS," CPI(M) leader Hannan Mollah told ANI.
Sitaram Yechury was a prominent Indian politician who held a seat in the CPM politburo for 32 years and served as the party's General Secretary from 2015. Additionally, he represented West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, from 2005 to 2017.(ANI)
About Sitaram Yechury:
Sitaram Yechury was an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), commonly known as CPI(M). He had held this position since 2015. Yechury was a seasoned politician and a prominent figure in leftist politics in India.
He had been deeply involved in student activism and was a key leader of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPI(M), during his university years at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. His political career within CPI(M) spans several decades, and he had played a significant role in shaping the party's policies and strategies at both national and state levels.
As General Secretary, Yechury had focused on strengthening the party’s presence, particularly in states where CPI(M) has historically been strong, such as Kerala and West Bengal. He was known for his strong oratory and clear articulation of leftist ideals, which include opposition to neoliberal economic policies, advocacy for workers' rights, and support for secularism in India.
Yechury was a member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India’s Parliament) and had contributed to debates on a wide range of issues, including foreign policy, economic reforms, and social justice. Under his leadership, CPI(M) has aimed to address the challenges posed by the rise of right-wing politics in India, with a focus on coalition-building among like-minded parties and promoting an alternative to the policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).