Veteran political leader and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away this afternoon at the age of 72, after being treated in the intensive care unit at AIIMS New Delhi. Yechury, who was admitted to the hospital on August 19 for a pneumonia-like chest infection, received condolences from leaders across the political spectrum. He is survived by his wife, senior journalist Seema Chishti, daughter Akhila, and son Daanish. His 34-year-old son, Ashish Yechury, had tragically passed away due to Covid-19 in 2021.
Yechury was a prominent leftist leader known for his eloquence and active roles in both Parliament and political activism. His political career, which began in the 1970s, was marked by his exceptional organizational skills and his wide-reaching influence across political parties in India. Over the years, he also embraced modern technology and social media, and his interviews with popular podcasters frequently gained attention.
However, Yechury was not immune to the spread of misinformation. An old image of him with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi recently went viral on social media, accompanied by misleading claims. Several posts falsely stated that in 1975, during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi had entered Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) with Delhi Police, assaulted Yechury—who was then president of the JNU Students’ Union—and forced him to resign for protesting against the Emergency.
In reality, the situation was different. The photograph was taken outside Indira Gandhi’s residence, not at JNU, and it was shot in 1977, after the Emergency had ended. Yechury had organized a demonstration that year demanding that Indira Gandhi resign from her position as chancellor of JNU after he was elected president of the Students’ Union. The viral image depicts Indira Gandhi listening to Yechury as he read out the students’ union’s demands. Despite losing the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, Indira Gandhi continued in her role as chancellor of the institution.
This incident highlights the power of misinformation in the digital age, even as leaders like Yechury maintained their relevance across various platforms and decades.