3 min readNew DelhiSep 13, 2024 07:21 AM IST
First published on: Sep 13, 2024 at 03:02 AM IST
As soon as news broke of CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s death, seven members of the party’s politburo, who were present at the time, met on the second floor of the party’s central office on Bhai Vir Singh Marg in New Delhi.
Teary-eyed, they remembered their stalwart leader who died at AIIMS Delhi after a prolonged illness on Thursday.
A statement from the politburo said: “Sitaram Yechury was the topmost leader of the CPI(M), an outstanding leader of the Left movement and a well-known Marxist ideologue. The untimely demise of Sitaram Yechury at this crucial juncture in our national politics is a big blow to the CPI(M) and a grievous loss for the Left, democratic and secular forces.”
A number of senior leaders of the party, including Prakash Karat and Brinda Karat, turned up to pay homage to Yechury.
The ceremony was sparse, yet heartfelt. A photo of Yechury with the party flag was placed on a table, covered with a simple white sheet near the reception. One by one, party members paid floral tributes amid chants of “Comrade Sitaram Yechury ko lal salaam” and “Comrade Sitaram Yechury amar rahe”.
The party flag in front of the building was lowered to half mast.
After the meeting was over, Politburo member M A Baby told The Indian Express that Yechury’s body will be kept in the mortuary of the AIIMS for embalming on Thursday.
The body will be taken from AIIMS to Yechury’s residence in Vasantkunj on Friday and will be kept there overnight.
He said the body will be taken to the CPI(M) central office on Saturday morning for public viewing. At 5 pm on Saturday, the body will be handed over to AIIMS for the research and study by students of medical sciences as per the wishes of the late party leader, he said. “It is an irreparable loss for the CPI(M), the Left forces. His absence will be felt in the coming days,” Baby said.
CPI general secretary leader D Raja also visited the CPM office and expressed his condolence, calling Yechury “a lucid writer, able parliamentarian and a capable leader”. “His loss will be felt in Left and democratic circles,” Raja said, adding that Yechury was one of the most outstanding leaders of the Left and communist movement in contemporary times.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi minister Atishi also visited the CPM office to pay tribute to the Marxist leader.
The CPI(M) flag at half mast at the party office in New Delhi. (Amit Mehra) 
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