New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS): CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit at the AIIMS here, passed away on Thursday. He was 72.

The CPI-M leader was admitted to AIIMS on August 19 for the treatment of a pneumonia-like chest infection.

He was being treated for acute respiratory tract infection and had been on respiratory support for some days now, as per a CPI-M statement on Tuesday, adding his condition was "critical but stable". A multidisciplinary team of doctors was tending to him, it added.

Yechury had succeeded Prakash Karat as the CPI-M chief in 2015.

The Left leader, who recently underwent a cataract surgery, was a member of the CPI-M's Politburo, the top decision-making body, for over three decades.

He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2005 to 2017.

Mourning his passing away, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: "Sitaram Yechury ji was a friend. A protector of the Idea of India with a deep understanding of our country".

"I will miss the long discussions we used to have. My sincere condolences to his family, friends, and followers in this hour of grief," he said in a post on X.

"ADIEUCOMRADE Sitaram Yechury Students' Federation of India dips its banner in honour of our beloved comrade, former All India President of SFI and General Secretary of CPI(M), Sitaram Yechury," the party's student wing said on X.