Srinagar: The people of Jammu and Kashmir have lost a sincere friend, CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said on Friday as he paid tributes to party veteran Sitaram Yechury, who died a day before.
“Kashmiris have lost a sincere friend. This is not about the CPI(M) or just a personal loss, but only a few people now remain who understand the pain of the people of Kashmir,” a visibly emotional Tarigami told reporters in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
He said Yechury was extremely concerned about the plight of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“He was among the first leaders to come to Srinagar after the unconstitutional decisions taken on August 5, 2019, but was not allowed to meet me. He went back and approached the Supreme Court. He got permission from the court and then met me,” Tarigami said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories.
Tarigami said even when Yechury was hospitalised, he was concerned about the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“I told him that the NC (National Conference) and the Congress would form a pre-poll alliance for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, and he asked me to be a part of the coalition to address the problems of people,” Tarigami said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said the biggest tribute to Yechury would be to tread his path to serve people.
“We want to assure the people here and all over the country that we will try to tread the path laid by him to work for them. This will be a true tribute to our beloved leader,” Tarigami said.
Yechury, a pragmatic communist and one of the key architects of coalition politics since the mid-1990s, died at a Delhi hospital on Thursday after battling a lung infection.