Figher who stood firm in his stance

NEW DELHI: With the demise of Comrade Sitaram Yechury, the CPI(M) has lost a courageous fighter who fearlessly opposed the BJP. His positions were unwavering and transparent. Although he was invited to the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya, he firmly refused, condemning the BJP's efforts to mix religion and politics. He asserted that the CPI(M) would never acquiesce to such a stance.

He remained unfazed even when the Vishva Hindu Parishad harshly criticized him, saying that Sitaram Yechury hated his own name and that only a person like him could stand firm in communist ideology. He consistently criticized the BJP government for misusing central agencies to suppress the voice of the opposition. He was the main voice of the opposition in Parliament. He took a strong stance on various critical issues, including the farmers' protests, amendments to the citizenship law, and the Manipur conflict. He condemned the Gaza massacre. He also termed the 'One Country, One Election' concept as undemocratic.

Took stand against electoral bonds
Sitaram Yechury strongly opposed electoral bonds, terming them a form of political corruption. He asserted that the party did not want to accept contributions through such bonds. He took the fight against electoral bonds to the Supreme Court. Later, when the Supreme Court declared the bonds unconstitutional, the party's stance against the scheme was validated, reaffirming Yechury's commitment to transparency and clean politics.

Corrective force
CPM Central Committee, under Yechury's leadership, examined the setback faced by the party in Kerala in the Lok Sabha elections. The Central Committee assessed that there was a crack in the party's base in Kerala and that the basic votes had gone to the BJP. Yechury suggested that the authoritarian attitude of leaders from top to bottom had alienated people from the party and that this trend must be put to an end.