CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury (72) passed away

Delhi: CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury (72) passed away. Sitaram Yechury was an Indian Marxist politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, and a member of the Politburo of the CPI since 1992. Previously, he was a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from West Bengal from 2005 to 2017

He was staying in the intensive care unit of Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) due to a lung infection and passed away today at 3:30 in the afternoon.

Yechury, who is also a former Rajya Sabha member, was admitted to the emergency department of AIIMS on August 19 following high fever and a chest infection. A few days ago the health condition improved but again deteriorated. He was then kept in the ICU with the help of a ventilator. His health worsened due to pneumonia. He also recently underwent cataract surgery.

Sitaram Yechury was born on August 12, 1952 in Chennai to Sarveswara Somayajula Yechury and Kalpakam Yechury, natives of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. His father was an engineer in the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Mother is a government official. 

Yechury's primary education was at All Saints School, Hyderabad. He came to Delhi as part of the Telangana movement of 1969 and was fully concentrated in the capital with his graduation and post-graduation. BA Honors in Economics from St. Stephen's in 1973 and MA from JNU in 1975. Then joined JNU for Ph.D. But the research could not be completed due to the arrest during Emergency.

Yechury, who shone as a student leader of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), entered public work through SII. Yechury became a part of SFI in JNU in 1974, just before the Emergency. He was arrested in 1975 during the Emergency. During 1977-78, he was president of JNU Students Union three times.

He became CPM member in 1975. In 1978 and later became the All India President.  In 1984, Yechury became the SFI All India Joint Secretary he became an invitee to the Central Committee. Retired from SFI in 1986. Member of the Central Committee at the 12th Party Congress held in 1985. He was also elected to the Central Secretariat in the 13th Party Congress held in 1988.  He played a critical role in drafting the Common Minimum Program of the United Front government in 1996 and in building the coalition for the formation of the UPA government in 2004.He joined the Politburo in 1992 and became the General Secretary in 2015. He remained in that position for nine years.