Veteran Left leader and CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury died this afternoon after battling an acute respiratory illness. The veteran leader was 72 and was admitted to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The CPM leader was admitted to the emergency ward of AIIMS on August 19 and later shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He was suffering from a pneumonia-like infection, but doctors had not disclosed the exact nature of the ailment. 

Political leaders across party lines expressed condolences to his family. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Sabha, said, “Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend. A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country.”

Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend.

A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country.

I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief. pic.twitter.com/6GUuWdmHFj

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 12, 2024

“I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief,” Mr Gandhi said.

“Sad to know that Sri Sitaram Yechury has passed away. I knew the veteran parliamentarian that he was and his demise will be a loss for the national politics,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Sad to know that Sri Sitaram Yechury has passed away. I knew the veteran parliamentarian that he was and his demise will be a loss for the national politics.

I express my condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 12, 2024

“I express my condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” Ms Banerjee said.

“The demise of CPI (M) General Secretary and senior leader Sitaram Yechury ji is an irreparable loss to Indian politics,” Congress said.

CPI(M) के महासचिव और वरिष्ठ नेता सीताराम येचुरी जी का निधन भारतीय राजनीति के लिए एक अपूरणीय क्षति है।

ईश्वर दिवंगत आत्मा को अपने श्री चरणों में स्थान दें और शोकाकुल परिजनों को यह दुख सहने की शक्ति प्रदान करें।

श्रद्धांजलि 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/73p6RaJidR

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 12, 2024

“May God give place to the departed soul in his lotus feet and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this sorrow,” the party said.

A member of the Politburo, CPM’s top decision-making body, for over three decades, Mr Yechury was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2005 to 2017.

An alumnus of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mr Yechury started his political career with the Students’ Federation of India and joined the CPIM in 1975. He was pursuing his doctorate in Economics from JNU when the Indira Gandhi government imposed the Emergency in 1975 and he was arrested along with many other leaders who would later play a key role in national politics. His PhD remained incomplete.

Launching a stinging attack on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said there is nothing more “condemnable and despicable” than someone who holds a constitutional post “becoming part of” the enemies of the nation. 

Mr Dhankhar’s comments come a day after the BJP hit out at Mr Gandhi, with Union Minister Amit Shah leading the charge and alleging that it has become a habit for the Congress leader to stand with “forces that conspire to divide the country”. The Vice President’s volley was prompted by Mr Gandhi’s remarks during his visit to the US  in which he spoke – among other things – about reservation and religious freedom in India.

Addressing Rajya Sabha interns at Parliament House, the Vice President accused the Congress leader of having no idea of Bharat, the Constitution and national interest and said he was sure people’s hearts must be bleeding at what they had seen. 

“Imagine, the ultimate sacrifice has been given by how many in getting this freedom, in protecting this freedom, in protecting the nation. Our brothers and sisters are also involved in combat positions. Mothers have lost their sons,  wives have lost their husbands. We can’t ridicule our nationalism,” Mr Dhankhar thundered. 

“Every Indian outside the country has to be an ambassador of this nation. How painful that one who holds a Constitutional position is doing just the reverse of it. Nothing can be more condemnable, despicable and intolerable than that you become part of enemies of the nation! They do not understand the value of freedom. They do not understand that this country has a civilisational depth of 5,000 years,” he added.

Mr Dhankhar said the Constitution was sacred and a result of three years of painstaking work through debate, dialogue and deliberation. 

“The challenges before them were Himalayan, insurmountable. The issues were divisive, there could not be easy consensus. They worked for it, they worked for us. And now, some people want to divide our nation. This is ignorance in extremity,” the Vice President added. 

On Wednesday, Mr Gandhi had clarified his remarks on reservation – he had said that the Congress will “think of ending reservation when India is a fair place” – and insisted that his party would take the quota limit beyond 50%.

“Yesterday someone misrepresented my statement that I am against reservation. But let me make it clear – I am not against reservation. We will take reservation beyond the limit of 50 per cent,” he said during an interview at the National Press Club in the US.