BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar and leaders from other political parties paid homage to Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, here on Saturday.

Nadda paid floral tributes to the mortal remains of the former Rajya Sabha MP Yechury, who passed away at the age of 72 on Thursday, at his residence.

Taking to X, the BJP chief wrote, “Paid floral tribute to the mortal remains of Former Rajya Sabha MP and General Secretary of the CPI (M) late Shri Sitaram Yechury ji.”

Remembering Yechury, Nadda said, “We both had different ideologies. He was a person more inclined towards ideas, but at the same time, he maintained relationships with those whose views differed from his own. He believed in agreeing to disagree and often said that this is the beauty of democracy. May God grant him eternal peace and give his family the strength to endure this pain.”

CPP Chairperson Gandhi and other key leaders of the INDIA bloc paid rich tributes to the mortal remains of Yechury at the CPI (M) office.

Earlier, Gandhi, while recalling her association with the veteran politician, said, “He was uncompromising in his commitment to the values of our country’s Constitution embodied so very forcefully in its Preamble. He was fierce in his determination to protect India’s diversity and was a powerful champion of secularism. He was, of course, a life-long communist but that faith was anchored in democratic values.”

Talking to reporters after paying homage to Yechury, SP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yadav called him one of the greatest leaders of the country, who worked to build bridges between the ideologies when required.

“Sitaram Yechury struggled all his life. He devoted his entire life to spreading his ideology to the masses. He will always be remembered. The country has lost a mature leader,” he said.

Among others, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Mansh Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manjo Kumar Jha and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhyayanidhi Stalin also paid homage to Yechury.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was also present on the occasion.