Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, passes away

General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday (September 12, 2024). He was undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for acute respiratory tract infection. He was 72-years old.

Mr. Yechury is survived by his wife Indrani Mazumdar, a son and a daughter. His elder son Ashish Yechury succumbed to COVID-19 in 2021.

Mr. Yechury was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 for treatment of pneumonia-like chest infection. He was admitted in the intensive care unit and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors.

His last appearance was in the form of a video recorded from the hospital where he paid tribute to fellow comrade and former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who passed away last month. Mr. Yechury couldn’t take part in the funeral.

Mr. Yechury has been CPI(M)‘s general secretary since 2015 and was re-elected for another term in 2018.

He released a six-minute video from the hospital on August 22 on his social media accounts paying condolence to former Chief Minister West Bengal Buddhadev Bhattacharya. “It’s my loss that I was not able to physically attend this memorial meeting and pay my homage to Com. Buddhadev Bhattacharya”, he wrote on X.