CHENNAI: Sitaram Yechury was the prized possession of not CPM alone, but he belonged to all, said Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin, adding that it was the former CPM general secretary who was instrumental in the formation of the INDIA Bloc.
Speaking at the memorial event organised to pay tribute to Yechury by the CPM in Chennai on Monday, Stalin said he continued to keep track of Yechury’s health condition while he was in the US.
The CM said Yechury was the symbol of India’s ideology and his demise was a big loss to that ideology. He recalled Yechury’s closeness to former DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and himself. Stalin said whenever alliance talks began, and some leaders from Tamil Nadu remained contradictive, Sitaram Yechury always walked in with a smile. “I will never forget his smile,” he said.
Jawaharlal Nehru University had produced many of India’s leaders of which Yechury was an outstanding one, who converted the institution into a fortress of Left parties, he said.
Yechury was instrumental in the formation of the INDIA Bloc, said Stalin. “Though he had certain contradictions with some parties within it, Yechury realised the importance of defeating BJP. He played an important role in the coalition govts at the Centre,” said Stalin.
Yechury was also a great writer, said Stalin. His book ‘Modi Arasangam: Vagupuvaathathin Puthiya Alai (Modi Government: New Surge of Communalism)’ speaks of how a new wave of classism has been unleashed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. “Yechury was a guiding light for the younger generations, and it is our duty to fulfil his dream of a socialistic, equal and secular India,” he said.
Leaders of the DMK alliance, including Dravida Kazhagam leader K Veeramani, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan and CPM state secretary K Balakrishnan, were present when Stalin unveiled a portrait of Yechury.