Astute diplomat: The little-known face of Sitaram Yechury
The central government sought Yechury's assistance during the political crisis that arose following the agitation against King Birendra of Nepal.
The central government sought Yechury's assistance during the political crisis that arose following the agitation against King Birendra of Nepal.
The central government sought Yechury's assistance during the political crisis that arose following the agitation against King Birendra of Nepal.
New Delhi: Sitaram Yechury is known to many as a Left political leader. But little is known about Yechury, the diplomat. It is debatable if Yechury has received due recognition as a sharp diplomat.
The central government has been adopting a stance of forming a consensus on foreign policies. Typically, successive governments for decades discussed contentious issues with Opposition parties that opposed policies in Parliament or outside to make them aware of the policies or alter them based on their views.
During the terms of PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh, Opposition party leaders were included in diplomatic discussions. Rao sent the then Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and E Ahamed of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to the UN to respond to allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir.
The governments that succeeded Rao, too, followed this precedent. Yechury was assigned the responsibility almost always when Singh was the prime minister.
The central government sought Yechury's assistance during the political crisis that arose following the agitation against King Birendra of Nepal. Yechury's closeness to Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai during his student days prompted the government to rope in the CPM leader.
The government also sought the help of DP Tripathi of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). (Tripathi was the chairman of the JNU students' union before Yechury). Subsequently, Yechury and Tripathi, along with foreign secretary Shyam Sharan, mediated between the Nepalese king, political parties, and the Maoists.
India was then keen on Nepal continuing with the monarchy with limited powers — like in the United Kingdom — and a democratic government running the country. Yechury was soon convinced that India's interest would not materialise in Nepal.
Yechury, Sharan, and Tripathi returned to India after convincing the king to abdicate. It was also said that Yechury explained to diplomats in the Ministry of External Affairs the nitty-gritty of Nepal's political situation. Sharan was impressed by Yechury's diplomatic skills.
The government sought Yechury's help even after the Congress and CPM fell apart and contested against each other in the 2009 general election over the civil nuclear deal with the US. Sharan, who was made India's special representative on climate change discussions after his term as the foreign secretary had ended, included Yechury in his team.
Besides, Yechury, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJD, and agriculturalist MS Swaminathan were also part of Sharan's team that attended the climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009 December. Yechury's arguments helped the Indian delegation to successfully oppose the US's pressure to impose stringent carbon emission regulatory measures on developing nations.
However, the CPM leader himself later said that Swaminathan and he, who had taken a tough stand on the issue, were invited to the Climate Change Conference of Parties at Cancun in Mexico at the last minute to avoid them. This, he said, was done under US pressure.
The US diplomats felt that the Indian government deliberately had sent Yechury and others to various discussions. Several of them believe that India made Yechury say "no" to various proposals, so the government could not take a negative stand.