Veteran political leader and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit at the AIIMS New Delhi, died this afternoon. He was 72. His passing away was condoled by leaders spanning the political spectrum. The CPI-M leader was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 for the treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection. Mr Yechury is survived by his wife and senior journalist Seema Chishti, daughter Akhila, and son Daanish. His 34-year-old son, Ashish Yechury, died of Covid in 2021.

Also Read | Left Veteran Sitaram Yechury Dies At 72 After Battling Respiratory Illness

A prominent leftist leader, renowned for his eloquence and active roles in both parliament and activism, he has left a mark on every facet of modern politics with his exceptional organisational skills and wide-reaching influence across political parties in India. Beginning his political career in the 1970s, he has also embraced modern technology and social media with remarkable ease. His interviews with popular podcasters have frequently gained attention, though he has not been immune to the spread of fake news in the digital age.

An old image of Sitaram Yechury with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi once went viral, accompanied by misleading information. A few years ago, multiple social media accounts shared a post falsely claiming that in 1975, during the Emergency, Indira Gandhi entered Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) with Delhi Police, assaulted CPI leader Yechury, who was then president of the JNU Students’ Union, and forced him to resign and publicly apologise for protesting against the Emergency. The archived version of one such post can be seen here.

However, the actual situation was very different. This photograph was shot outside of Indira Gandhi’s home, not at JNU. This image was taken when the emergency ended in 1977. Mr Yechury organised a demonstration in 1977 to demand that Indira Gandhi resign from her position as chancellor of the institution after being elected president of the JNU Students’ Union. Indira Gandhi was listening to Yechury as she read out the demands of the students’ union in the picture. Indira Gandhi held on to the post despite losing the Lok Sabha polls, which were held following the Emergency.

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.

Mr Yechury was elected president of the JNU Student’s Union three times in a year after he was out of jail. It was during this time that he also met Prakash Karat, who would remain a lifelong companion.

Dr. Gobardhan Das, Professor at the School of Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and the BJP’s candidate in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls has quit the party. Last week he took charge as Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal.

“Before accepting my position (as Director) I have resigned from any political association. I have nothing whatsoever to do with any political outfit,” he told The Hindu on Friday. Dr. Das, a professor of immunology, was active on social media during the pandemic and – before COVID vaccines were available – was an advocate for the use of the BCG vaccine (used to immunise against childhood TB), as a prophylactic against the coronavirus. He was also a very vocal, political commentator and had participated in television debates as a “BJP leader” on a range of issues.

Lost assembly contest

Dr. Das, who contested on a BJP ticket in the Purbasthali Uttar (Purba Bardhaman) constituency, lost to Tapan Chatterjee of the AITMC by 6,700 votes, during the campaign he had raised concerns about violence directed at him by AITMC workers.

While Dr. Das has been off X (formerly Twitter) all of this month, his last post on 24^th July ‘23 had political overtones: “Met @SuvenduWB ji at his Kolkata home and discussed the perilous law and order situation in my beloved Bengal. When a sitting DIG can brazenly refute the video-graphed assault on our BJP lady karyakarta, what else is left to say?”

Dr. Das told The Hindu that he had always separated his “scientific life” and “political life” and, in his new role, would be “far away from politics.” “As a professor, I contested elections with permission from my university (JNU). Even then (during electioneering) when I was in my lab or at university, I did not utter a single word on politics. I’m neutral and will be focussing my time and energy on ensuring that IISER Bhopal scales new heights of excellence.”

IISER Bhopal is among the seven such institutes that come under the Ministry of Education and were conceived to train students in the basic sciences and prepare them for research careers. Being centrally funded, faculty and administrators are bound by CCS (Central Civil Services) government conduct rules that bar them from political activities during service.

He said BJP was supportive of his decision, he was “encouraged and given the freedom” to pursue his interests.