Fri Sep 13 14:47:38 UTC 2024: ## JNU Pays Tribute to Late CPI(M) Leader Sitaram Yechury
**New Delhi:** Hundreds of students and faculty members at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) gathered on Friday to pay their respects to late CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, whose body was kept at the JNUSU office. Yechury, 72, passed away on Thursday after battling a lung infection.
Known for his pragmatic approach, Yechury was a prominent figure in the Left movement, particularly at JNU. He was a key architect of the Left bastion at the university, having been a student activist himself, joining the Students Federation of India (SFI) in 1974. He was arrested during the Emergency and served as JNUSU president thrice during 1977-78.
Yechury’s legacy at JNU is significant. He served as All-India Joint Secretary and later President of the SFI, becoming the first non-West Bengali or Keralite to hold the position.
Mourners chanted the iconic “Laal Salam” slogan as they paid their last respects to the veteran leader, whose casket was adorned with flowers. A banner reading “Long live comrade Sitaram Yechury” was placed above his garlanded photograph.
Yechury is survived by his wife Seema Chishti and two children, Akhila and Danish. His elder son, Ashish Yechury, passed away due to Covid in 2021.
First Piper 