The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Sitaram Yechury, veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and former member of the parliament, has passed away. He was 72.
Earlier this week, his party had said in a statement that he was being treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors for acute respiratory tract infection at the ICU in AIIMS, New Delhi.
“It is with profound grief that we announce the passing away of CPIM General Secretary, our beloved Comrade Sitaram Yechury, at 3.03 pm today, 12th September, at the AIIMS, New Delhi. He was suffering from a respiratory tract infection which developed complications. We thank the doctors, nursing staff and the Director of the Institute for the excellent treatment and care extended to Comrade Yechury. Details of public viewing and homage will be informed,” the party announced in a statement.
Party sources informed The Wire that Yechury’s body will be brought to the CPI(M) headquarters at A.K. Gopalan Bhavan in Gole Market, New Delhi on Saturday, and the memorial will be held later that day. AIIMS has announced that his family has decided to donate his body for research.
Yechury has been general secretary of the CPI(M) since 2015. He had joined the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) in 1974 and the CPI(M) in 1975.
By 1978, Yechury had been elected as the all-India joint secretary of the SFI. He went on to become the president of the organisation.
He was elected to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal in 2005.
A representative of the CPI(M) in the pre-Lok Sabha election coalition of opposition parties – the INDIA bloc – Yechury had been a vital presence in key coalition building efforts that the CPI(M) has participated in.
Yechury is survived by his son, daughter and wife, the veteran journalist Seema Chishti, who is editor of The Wire.
Political participants from across the spectrum have written messages of condolence and sorrow on social media. Political leaders noted Yechury’s “unwavering conviction”, his “deep understanding of our country,” and the fact that he was “one of the tallest leaders of our times.”