Maintaining that he had "fought tirelessly against religious fundamentalism", senior party leader Sitaram Yechury said Engineer had tried to "reform his community from within and was subjected to social boycott which he had faced bravely. He stood for gender justice and women's rights, particularly the rights of Muslim women."
Observing that Engineer had dedicated his entire life combating communalism and helping riot victims, Yechury said he was a writer and an activist "who wrote and worked extensively for inter-community harmony and countered the arguments of Hindutva forces that sought to typecast Muslims and Islam.