Sitaram Yechury Death: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital on Thursday due to prolonged illness. He was 72. Yechury had been in a critical condition for the last few days and was on respiratory support.


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In a statement issued on Tuesday, the CPI (M) said that the 72-year-old leader was being treated for an acute respiratory tract infection at the ICU in AIIMS, Delhi. Yechury was admitted to the hospital on August 19 for treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection.


Who Was Sitaram Yechury?


Yechury became the general secretary of the CPM in 2015. He succeeded Prakash Karat. He grew under the leadership of party leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet. Surjeet had played major roles in the coalition era governance first during the National Front government of V P Singh and the United Front government of 1996-97, both of which received the support of CPI(M) from outside.


Yechury had played a crucial role in the talks with the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal that led to the Left parties withdrawing support to the UPA-I government. Born on August 12, 1952, in Chennai, he grew up in Hyderabad and studied at All Saints High School till Class 10. Later, he came to Delhi during the Telangana agitation of 1969.
 
The CPI (M) general secretary was a meritorious student. He had joined Presidents Estate School in the national capital and secured the All-India first rank in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Higher Secondary Examination. He also managed to secure first rank in B A (Hons) in Economics at St Stephen's College, Delhi, and M A in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).


Later, Yechury joined the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for a PhD in Economics, which was aborted following his arrest during 'The Emergency' in 1975. He rose to prominence after his arrest during the Emergency in 1975 while he was still a student at the JNU. He was elected president of the JNU Students' Union thrice in the span of a year between 1977 and 78.