Lal Salam, dear comrade

NEW DELHI: The national capital will bid farewell to CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who rose from a student leader to a stalwart of the Left movement, on Saturday. The mortal remains of Yechury will brought to the party headquarters AKG Bhavan for public viewing at 11 am today. Later, the body will be taken to AIIMS in a mourning procession in the evening.

As the embalmed body of the late leader was taken out of the AIIMS anatomy lab yesterday evening, a sudden and unexpected rain shower poured down. Later, at around 5 pm, the procession first headed towards the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, a place that played a significant role in shaping Yechury's leadership. Slogans of 'Lal Salam Comrade' filled the air as the ambulance entered the campus with a convoy of vehicles. The public viewing was held at the Students' Union office, where Yechury had worked for a long time. Despite the heavy rain, hundreds of people, including teachers, students, leaders, and old classmates, gathered to pay their respects. The campus resonated with chants of 'Red Salute to Comrade', 'We Salute', and 'Lal Salam'.

After 15 minutes of public viewing at the campus, the body was taken to Yechury's residence at Vasant Kunj Pocket B 544 Sector amidst heavy rain. Although the body was brought to the residence for the family members to pay their last respects, several leaders including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Brinda Karat, MA Baby, AV Vijayaraghavan, Dr V Shivadasan, and Mariam Dhawale also arrived to pay their tributes.

The mortal remains will be taken to the AKG Bhavan in Gole Market at 11 am today. Public viewing will be allowed until 3 pm. Following this, the body will be taken back to AIIMS in a funeral procession. As per Yechury's wish, the mortal remains have been donated to the AIIMS Anatomy Department for educational and research purposes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to pay his tributes. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other leaders of the 'INDIA' front will also pay their tributes. From Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, 17 ministers, CPM State Secretary MV Govindan, and other leaders have already arrived. Party Secretaries and MPs from all states will also participate.

Politburo members, including Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, and MA Baby, and other party and organization leaders had arrived at AIIMS to pay their respects to Yechury. On Friday morning, leaders and activists paid their tributes before Yechury's photo at the party headquarters, AKG Bhavan.