CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday said that his elder son Ashish died of COVID-19 in the morning.
Ashish, who would have turned 35 on June 9, was recovering well at Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital, people close to the family added, describing his sudden death at 5.30 am after a two-week battle with the disease as a shock.
"It is with great sadness that I have to inform that I lost my elder son, Ashish Yechury to COVID-19 this morning. I want to thank all those who gave us hope and who treated him - doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, sanitation workers and innumerable others who stood by us," Yechury said on Twitter.
As soon as this news made it to Twitter, political leaders across India paid respect and offered condolences to the bereaved father. Keeping political affiliations aside, members of multiple political parties put up tweet expressing their sadness about Ashish Yechury's demise.
However, BJP member Mithilesh Kumar Tiwari put up a controversial tweet which he has now deleted. Tiwari wrote, "Chinese Supporter CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury's son Ashish Yechury dies from Chinese Corona."
This tweet has been condemned and criticised by many political leaders, celebrities and the general public who have called it insensitive.
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With inputs from PTI.