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BJP leader Champai Soren breaks down while paying tribute to Shibu Soren | Video
Shibu Soren, tribal icon and father of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, died at 81 on Monday in Delhi after battling kidney-related illness for over a month.
BJP leader Champai Soren broke down while paying his final respects to JMM founder-patron and former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren at his residence on Tuesday, following the veteran leader’s demise at the age of 81.
Shibu Soren, father of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and a towering tribal leader, passed away at the age of 81 on Monday at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where he had been undergoing treatment for kidney-related complications for over a month. Fondly known as ‘Guruji’, he had been battling prolonged illness.
His last rites are scheduled to be held later today in his native village, Nimra in Jharkhand.
Mortal remains brought to the Assembly
The mortal remains of veteran tribal leader and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) co-founder Shibu Soren, referred to as 'Dishom Guru', were brought to the Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday. Governor Santosh Gangwar and Assembly Speaker Rabindranath Mahato paid their respects to the departed leader.
Several senior political figures, including Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, women and child development minister Annapurna Devi, and minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth, also paid floral tributes at the Assembly complex.
Chief minister Hemant Soren, accompanied by state ministers Irfan Ansari, Dipika Pandey Singh, Shilpi Neha Tirkey and numerous MLAs from across the political spectrum, honoured the late leader on the Assembly premises.
A day after Soren’s demise, CM Hemant Soren said his father’s lifelong struggle against injustice would be carried forward.
Following the official announcement of the former Chief Minister's passing, the ongoing monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly— which had commenced on 1 August — was adjourned sine die.
Top bureaucrats, including director general of police Anurag Gupta and Avinash Kumar, Principal Secretary to the CM, were also present to offer their condolences.
A large gathering of JMM supporters and members of the public arrived to pay their final respects, chanting slogans such as “Guruji Amar Rahe” (Long live Guruji) as the hearse bearing Soren’s body reached the Assembly around 10.30 am.
Hemant Soren, dressed in a white kurta-pyjama and a traditional tribal gamcha (towel), accompanied his father's remains.
The late tribal stalwart will be cremated with full state honours at his ancestral village, Nemra, in Ramgarh district, located roughly 70 kilometres from the state capital Ranchi, later in the day.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
