Sitaram Yechury fostered deep, lasting friendships
One of Yechury’s most defining characteristics was his unimpeachable integrity.
Sitaram Yechury, a veteran of national politics and one of the leading lights of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leaves behind a rich legacy of camaraderie in politics.
Yechury and I began our political journeys around the same time, from student activism to Parliament, from diverse political streams. We enjoyed a close friendship marked by sincerity and genuine affection for each other, despite belonging to political parties with diametrically opposite ideologies.
As a parliamentarian and senior politician whose mother tongue was Telugu (like mine), he and I interacted over a wide range of issues and exchanged ideas on a number of occasions over the years. We did not always agree, but our friendship remained unaffected and warm as ever.
Yechury’s political life, much like mine, began in the vibrant milieu of student activism of the 1970s. His Left-leaning ideologies were evident from the early days. A powerful speaker from his days as a student leader, he conducted his political activism with much spirit and was highly effective. He was detained during the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi’s government. His imprisonment, like mine, during this dark period only strengthened his reputation as a fearless young leader and champion of individual freedoms and civil liberties.
Over the decades, our close friendship further cemented, though we always had our political and ideological differences. Our discussions always ended on a cordial note, on the principle of “let us agree to disagree.” Yechury’s innate ability to connect with a diverse range of people became one of his most cherished qualities. I know with certainty that he had an exceptional ability to bond with individuals from all walks of life.
His abiding warmth, humour, and genuine interest in others fostered deep and lasting relationships, transcending the usual boundaries of political affiliations. All these attributes taken together, with his sharp intellect and conviction of principles thrown in, made Yechury a highly respected figure across the political spectrum.
In this respect, not many leaders in our political life today have the sort of bandwidth he had, and this is one of the principal reasons, among many, why he will be sorely missed on the national stage.
As a parliamentarian, Yechury had a formidable and forceful presence. His effectiveness and impactfulness as a parliamentarian were marked by his active participation in proceedings of the Upper House. As a fellow parliamentarian and later as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, I witnessed his ability to articulate complex issues with remarkable clarity and precision.
Yechury’s speeches in Parliament were meticulously crafted arguments that were substantiated by sound research and laced with generous doses of humour. He was a firm believer in preparation and informed debate. In this, he reminded me of the traits he shared with other friends and colleagues of mine, such as Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.
It is worth mentioning here that Yechury, as is widely known, was a voracious reader. His extensive reading cut across a range of disciplines, which informed his political thought and public discourse. His understanding of global and national issues was exceptionally insightful, and he brought a rare depth of knowledge to his political insights and engagements. Yechury’s penchant for drawing from a wide range of sources and perspectives added to his reputation as an exceptional intellectual.
One of Yechury’s most defining characteristics was his unimpeachable integrity. In these times of unbridled opportunism and unabashedly shifting loyalties, Yechury was a beacon of political steadfastness. His adherence to his principles was always non-negotiable. Even when his stand appeared controversial to many in his party, as happened to be the case with regard to the issue of the Indo-US Nuclear Deal during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era, he stuck to his guns and was unyielding in terms of his conviction.
Yechury’s absence will be deeply felt in our public life. He was a towering leader who, it can be said, shaped the broader political discourse with his insights and perspectives. I will profoundly miss the conversations we used to have, as also the other interactions rich with his insights, wit and humour. I would like to conclude by saying that we always believed that we were rivals, but not enemies, in politics.
M Venkaiah Naidu is the former Vice President of India. The views expressed are personal