Editor's Pick | Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, passes away

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday. He was 72. Mr. Yechury was admitted to the hospital on August 19 with “pneumonia-like” symptoms and had been on respiratory support for the past few days. In one of his last video messages from the hospital, Mr. Yechury paid tribute to former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on August 22. In an emotional farewell message to the former CM who had passed away a few days before, Mr. Yechury said: “It’s most unfortunate that I had to connect from AIIMS to convey my feelings, emotions and revolutionary Lal Salaam to Buddho Da.” Tributes poured from across the political spectrum for Mr. Yechury, a two-term Rajya Sabha MP. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau said his untimely demise at “this crucial juncture in our national politics is a big blow to the CPI(M) and a grievous loss for the Left, democratic and secular forces”. Expressing condolences, President Droupadi Murmu said though he was a “committed ideologue, he won friends cutting across the party lines”. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, called Mr. Yechury a leading light of the Left. Mr. Yechury was a Marxist, political strategist, and a polyglot who could speak in the language of the person on the street and revelled in bringing disparate ideological strands together. A gold medallist in economics, Mr. Yechury graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He chose the newly established Jawaharlal Nehru University over the Delhi School of Economics for his Master’s — a choice that steered his career in an entirely different direction. His political career began in JNU. Indira Gandhi, even after her defeat in the Lok Sabha election, had been holding on to her post as Chancellor. The students led by him marched to her house in 1977 demanding her resignation. “There were 500 of us. Her aide told us that only five of us can go in to meet her. But when we insisted, she herself came out. We read out our resolution against her which was full of litanies, but she heard stoically. I handed over the resolution to her and she took it politely too. Couple of days later, she resigned,” he said. This incident was recorded in the famous photograph of Indira Gandhi standing stoically next to a dishevelled Yechury holding a resolution and surrounded by students. Mr. Yechury, an ardent advocate of coalition politics, was a key agent in bringing the Opposition parties together, ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2019 and formation of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance in 2023. He was also an ardent critic of identity-based politics. The Hindu’s Editorials Good, but not enough: On the extended coverage of the Ayushman Bharat scheme Street power: On the Kolkata protest The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Which recent domestic cricket tournament made use of the Decision Review System? Duleep Trophy Vijay Hazare Trophy Ranji Trophy Irani Trophy To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 13 September 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 13 September 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, passes away [Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday](. He was 72. Mr. Yechury was admitted to the hospital on August 19 with “pneumonia-like” symptoms and had been on respiratory support for the past few days. In one of his last video messages from the hospital, Mr. Yechury paid tribute to former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on August 22. In an emotional farewell message to the former CM who had passed away a few days before, Mr. Yechury said: “It’s most unfortunate that I had to connect from AIIMS to convey my feelings, emotions and revolutionary Lal Salaam to Buddho Da.” Tributes poured from across the political spectrum for [Mr. Yechury, a two-term Rajya Sabha MP](. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau said his untimely demise at “this crucial juncture in our national politics is a big blow to the CPI(M) and a grievous loss for the Left, democratic and secular forces”. Expressing condolences, President Droupadi Murmu said though he was a “committed ideologue, he won friends cutting across the party lines”. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, called Mr. Yechury a leading light of the Left. [Mr. Yechury was a Marxist, political strategist, and a polyglot who could speak in the language of the person on the street and revelled in bringing disparate ideological strands together]( A gold medallist in economics, Mr. Yechury graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He chose the newly established Jawaharlal Nehru University over the Delhi School of Economics for his Master’s — a choice that steered his career in an entirely different direction. His political career began in JNU. Indira Gandhi, even after her defeat in the Lok Sabha election, had been holding on to her post as Chancellor. The students led by him marched to her house in 1977 demanding her resignation. “There were 500 of us. Her aide told us that only five of us can go in to meet her. But when we insisted, she herself came out. We read out our resolution against her which was full of litanies, but she heard stoically. I handed over the resolution to her and she took it politely too. Couple of days later, she resigned,” he said. This incident was recorded in the famous photograph of Indira Gandhi standing stoically next to a dishevelled Yechury holding a resolution and surrounded by students. Mr. Yechury, an ardent advocate of coalition politics, was a key agent in bringing the Opposition parties together, ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2019 and formation of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance in 2023. [He was also an ardent critic of identity-based politics](. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Good, but not enough: On the extended coverage of the Ayushman Bharat scheme]( [Arrow][Street power: On the Kolkata protest]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Which recent domestic cricket tournament made use of the Decision Review System? - Duleep Trophy - Vijay Hazare Trophy - Ranji Trophy - Irani Trophy To know the answer and to play the full quiz,[ click here.]( Today’s Best Reads [[Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, passes away] Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) general secretary, passes away]( [[Air taxis will soon be a reality in India: PM] Air taxis will soon be a reality in India: PM]( [[Doctors refuse to meet Mamata Banerjee without livestreaming] Doctors refuse to meet Mamata Banerjee without livestreaming]( [[Harvey Weinstein indicted on additional sex crimes charges ahead of New York retrial] Harvey Weinstein indicted on additional sex crimes charges ahead of New York retrial]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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