The CPIM General Secretary passed away after a 25-day battle with illness; his body will be kept for public homage before being donated as per his last wish.
CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away on Thursday afternoon after a prolonged battle with illness that lasted 25 days. Yechury had been undergoing treatment at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) since August 19, following a severe respiratory infection. As per the CPM leadership, Yechury’s body will be donated to AIIMS on Saturday, in line with his final wish.
The CPM Central Committee announced that Yechury’s body will remain at AIIMS on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, at 11 a.m., his body will be taken to A.K. Gopalan Bhavan, the CPM headquarters at Gole Market, New Delhi, where it will be kept until 3 p.m. for the public to pay their respects. Following that, his body will be donated to AIIMS.
Yechury was admitted to the hospital on August 19 after doctors detected a serious lung infection. He was immediately placed in the ICU. On Monday night, September 9, his condition deteriorated, and doctors had to put him on a ventilator. He breathed his last at 3:03 p.m. on Thursday.
Earlier in August, Yechury had undergone cataract surgery in Delhi on the 8th, the same day that former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away. Due to his health condition, Yechury couldn’t attend Bhattacharya’s final rites in Kolkata. He also missed the memorial event held for Bhattacharya on August 22 at Netaji Indoor Stadium, as he was already admitted to AIIMS by then. It is at this same hospital that Yechury’s body will be donated on Saturday, as per his wishes.