“Sitaram Yechury played a pivotal role in UPA-1,” Sonia Gandhi said (File)New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday condoled the passing away of CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, saying he was fierce in his determination to protect India’s diversity and was a powerful champion of secularism.Mr Yechury breathed his last at the AIIMS here on Thursday following a prolonged illness. He was 72. Mr Yechury had been in a critical condition for the last few days and was on respiratory support.”I am very saddened by the passing away of Sitaram Yechuryji. We had worked closely together during 2004-08 to begin with and the friendship that had been established then continued till his very end,” said Mrs Gandhi in a statement.”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,” the former Congress chief said.Mr Yechury was, of course, a life-long communist but that faith was anchored in democratic values, Gandhi said.Indeed, his twelve-year stint in Parliament was memorable and left his indelible mark, she added.”He (Yechury) played a pivotal role in UPA-1 and more recently contributed enormously to the emergence of the INDIA group in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He will be sorely missed,” Mrs  Gandhi said.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NEWSWALLA staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)