Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
Biman Basu, the senior-most Marxist leader in the country, pays homage to a comrade he has known and admired since the 1980s.
There are few leaders in the Opposition line up who can claim a path to party leadership like Sitaram Yechury and certainly, very few who blended that ascent through student politics with awareness about non-elite real India, urban India and liberal politics, as he did, notes Shyam G Menon.
Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Thursday, September 12, 2024 following a prolonged illness, hospital and party sources said. He was 72.
The 72-year-old Yechury is being treated for acute respiratory tract infection at the ICU in AIIMS, it said in a statement.
The CPI-M leader was fluent in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bangla, and also Malayalam. He was also well-versed in Hindu mythology, and often used those references in his speeches especially to attack the BJP.
Earlier in the day, rich tributes were paid to Yechury at the Communist Party of India (Marxist) headquarters at the AKG Bhavan here, where his mortal remains were brought from his residence in the morning.
There was a protest in the university demanding Gandhi's resignation as the chancellor and the students decided to walk down to her residence and paste a memorandum demanding her resignation on the door.
The Communist party of India-Marxist said on Tuesday while underlining its belief that religion is a personal choice.
M A Baby faces several significant challenges: Helping the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front secure a third consecutive term in Kerala's 2026 assembly elections, and regaining ground lost in the party's traditional strongholds of West Bengal, Tripura, and other regions.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is set to elect its next general secretary, with speculation rife over who will lead the party. Leading contenders include M A Baby, backed by the party's Kerala unit, and Ashok Dhawale, who enjoys support from the West Bengal lobby. Other potential candidates include Mohammed Salim, B V Raghavulu, and Brinda Karat. The election will take place at the 24th CPI(M) congress in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Amid this unrest came the verdict of the Allahabad high court on June 12, 1975 that found Gandhi guilty over discrepancies in the electoral campaign, which led to the Emergency on the night of June 25.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress in Madurai. Baby, who was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998, has been a member of the Politburo since 2012. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury, who passed away last year.
As the Delhi police continue to raid different premises linked to NewsClick, a team reached at Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's residence on Tuesday morning to question his staffer Sri Narayan's son Sunmit Kumar.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said though there is no pre-poll adjustment with the Tipra Motha, there can be local-level understanding with the tribal party, which has emerged as the third pole in the upcoming Tripura elections.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued a note to its state units on the draft political resolution for the upcoming party congress. The note says the party does not consider the Narendra Modi government or the Indian State as "neo-fascist", even as there are manifestations of "neo-fascist characteristics". The note clarifies that the party is not calling the Modi government "neo-fascist", but is concerned about the dangers of the BJP-RSS consolidating power and pushing a Hindutva-corporate agenda. The CPI(M) distinguishes between "neo-fascism", which it describes as a global phenomenon rooted in the crisis of neoliberalism, and classical fascism.
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
'The political situation in the country will depend on the electoral outcome in Maharashtra.'
As news of the death came in, condolences for the family poured in from leaders and others, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
The apex court made it clear that Yechury was allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir only to meet his party colleague.
He had a breakfast meeting with Tarigami at his government accommodation located at the secured Gupkar road in the civil lines area of Srinagar city where he has been under detention since August 5 after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was withdrawn.
Yechury could play the role Harkishan Singh Surjeet had played in 1996 and 2004 to unify the opposition, writes Archis Mohan.
There are "contradictions" in the approach of the two parties in fighting BJP and there is no question of an alliance with the ruling TMC in Bengal as it has inflicted atrocities on grassroot level CPI (M) workers, he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said he was neither a claimant for the prime minister's post nor desirous of it, his assertion coming amid speculation that his visit to the capital is to claim leadership of the opposition parties.
After getting a green signal from the Supreme Court, Yechury said he will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to meet Tarigami.
The leaders of the INDIA requested the EC to instruct its officials that they should follow the guidelines.
Opposition leaders on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments made at an elections rally in Rajasthan, with some leaders also appealing to people to reach out to the Election Commission of India.
'We don't have to go abroad for anything.' 'Anyone who thinks we have a lot to learn from the US needs to have his head examined.' 'We are in a new era.'
Convert the Haryana result into a blessing in disguise; make the calamity into an opportunity. Maharashtra was always the big ticket game in town; MVA must win it. The Congress should shift headquarters to Mumbai for the entire month. Show urgency and a hunger to win, asserts Sanjay Jha.
Yechury recounted the non-violent traditions of the country citing the Maurya Empire's acceptance of the Buddhist philosophy.
Rajnath came down heavily on the National Conference-Congress alliance over its poll promise of restoring Article 370 and said it is impossible as long as the BJP is there.
The 65-year-old leader had taken over as general secretary of the CPI-M from Prakash Karat in the 21st party congress, which was held in Visakhapatnam, in 2015.
"PM Narendra Modi yesterday in his broadcast to the nation claimed that there is normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and people are happy with the decision of abolition of article 370 and 35A.
The identity of the two men, who also shouted slogans of "CPI(M) murdabad" and "Hindu Sena zindabad", could not be immediately known.
They have been accused of asking anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters to go to 'any extreme', spreading discontent in the community by calling CAA/National Register of Citizens anti-Muslim, and organise demonstrations to 'malign the image of the Government of India'.
Shiv Sena described Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury as the "captain of a sinking ship".
Why not triple talaq line to Sabarimala, Yechury asks Centre
While Karat is opposed to any understanding with the Congress, Yechury is of the view that the situation warrants putting together a national alternative to the BJP, reports Archis Mohan.
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