President Droupadi Murmu has expressed grief at the demise of CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. In a social media post, the President said that, first as a student leader and then in national politics and as a parliamentarian, Sitaram Yechury had a distinct and influential voice. President Murmu said, though a committed ideologue, Mr. Yechury won friends across party lines. She expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of Mr. Yechury.