2024-09-12 11:05:36
New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury died after a prolonged illness at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here. He was earlier kept in the ICU. Earlier, the party had said that 72-year-old Yechury had a respiratory tract infection. Earlier, Yechury was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 for treatment of a chest infection similar to pneumonia. Recently, he also underwent cataract surgery.
Carrying forward the legacy of Surjeet
Sitaram Yechury was an Indian politician and the fifth general secretary of the Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M). He was currently the leader of the parliamentary group of the CPI-M and a member of the party’s politburo. He was known as a noted columnist, economist and social activist. Sitaram Yechury is known for carrying forward the coalition building legacy of former party general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet. He collaborated with P. Chidambaram to draft the common minimum program for the United Front government in 1996. He played a key role in coalition building efforts during the formation of the United Progressive Alliance government in 2004.
Sitaram Yechury Death: CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away, breathed his last in Delhi AIIMS
Journey from Madras to Delhi
Early Life and Education of Sitaram Yechury Sitaram Yechury was born in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu on 12 August 1952 in a Telugu-speaking Brahmin family. His father Sarveshwar Somayajula Yechury was an engineer in the Andhra Pradesh State Road Corporation. His mother Kalpakam Yechury was a government official. Sitaram Yechury spent his childhood in Hyderabad. Sitaram Yechury matriculated from All Saints High School, Hyderabad. After the Telangana movement of 1969, he came to Delhi. Here he took admission in President Estate School. Due to his exceptional academic prowess, Yechury secured first position at the all-India level in the CBSE Higher Secondary Examination in 1970. He took admission in the prestigious St. Stephen’s College of Delhi University. However, he could not continue it due to being arrested during the Emergency of 1975-1977.
Entry into politics in 1974
Sitaram Yechury entered Indian politics in 1974. He became a member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) at that time. He joined the Communist Party of India – Marxist in 1975, while he was a student at Jawaharlal University in Delhi. Yechury was among the many who were arrested during the Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in 1975. After being released from jail after the Emergency was lifted in 1977, Sitaram Yechury was elected president of the JNU Students Union three times in a year. Sitaram Yechury and former CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat made JNU a bastion of the left. Yechury was elected general secretary of the SFI and was later appointed its president in 1978. In 1984, Yechury became a member of the Central Committee of the CPI-M. Two years later, he parted ways with the SFI. At the 14th Congress of the CPI-M in 1992, Sitaram Yechury was elected to the party Politburo.
Reached Rajya Sabha for the first time from West Bengal
Sitaram Yechury was first elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) from West Bengal in 2005. He has since been an iconic figure in the Upper House for bringing forth issues of common interest and public welfare and repeatedly disrupting ruling governments on a number of issues over the years. Yechury is often criticised by the government for causing regular disruptions. However, he considers it his democratic right. His current term as a Rajya Sabha member is from 19 August 2011 to 18 August 2017. 19 April 2015 is considered the day on which Sitaram Yechury was unanimously elected as the fifth General Secretary of the Communist Party of India – Marxist at the 21st Party Congress held in Visakhapatnam. He replaced Prakash Karat. Sitaram Yechury and his politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai were contenders for the coveted post. However, they later withdrew their support and Yechury ascended to the post of party general secretary.
Married to journalist Seema Chishti
CPI-M Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal Sitaram Yechury is married to journalist Seema Chishti Yechury. Sitaram Yechury has a son from Seema Chishti Yechury. Sitaram Yechury’s first wife was the daughter of famous leftist activist Veena Majumdar. His daughter Akhila Yechury is a professor of history. She has taught at the University of St. Andrews. She was also a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.