- Shibu Soren, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha co-founder, died at 81
- His body was taken to Nemra village with full state honours and large public turnout
- Jharkhand declared three-day state mourning and schools remained closed on Tuesday
A sombre atmosphere prevailed in Nemra on Tuesday as people from near and far thronged the village in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district to have a last glimpse of former chief minister Shibu Soren, who is fondly known as 'Dishom Guru' by the masses.
The JMM co-founder died on Monday at a hospital in Delhi while undergoing treatment for kidney-related ailments. He was 81. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other leaders, paid homage to the departed soul in the national capital.
People lined up on both sides of the road to pay their last respects as the hearse carrying his body was being taken to his ancestral village Nemra from the state assembly in Ranchi.
The carcade was greeted with chants of 'Guruji amar rahe' (long live Guruji).
Shibu Soren's son and Chief Minister Hemant Soren, clad in a white kurta-pyjama, and a traditional tribal 'gamcha' on his shoulders, was seen sitting on the vehicle with folded hands.
A beeline of vehicles followed the carcade.
Most of the shops and establishments in Ranchi remained closed in the first half of the day as a mark of respect for the departed leader.
His body will be laid to rest with full state honours at Nemra during the day, officials said.
In Nemra, around 75 km from the state capital Ranchi, preparations were in full swing for the last rites of the former chief minister.
Special traffic arrangements have been made for the funeral as several political leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and others, are likely to participate.
Political leaders from across the country have started arriving in Ranchi, while Gandhi and Kharge are scheduled to arrive in the state capital from Delhi around 3.30 pm and from there, they will fly to Nemra aboard a chopper, officials said.
Those who have already arrived in Ranchi include Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh, TMC MP Shatabdi Roy, Purnea MP Pappu Yadav, among others.
Shibu Soren had been the leader of the JMM for the past 38 years.
As a mark of respect, the Jharkhand government declared a three-day state mourning till August 6.
Most of the schools in Jharkhand are closed on Tuesday, with many ensuring special prayers for peace to the departed soul.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were also adjourned for the day on Monday as a mark of respect, following the death of sitting MP Shibu Soren.
The ongoing monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly, which began on August 1, was adjourned sine die following the announcement of his death.
Earlier in the day, the body of Shibu Soren were brought to the state assembly, where Governor Santosh Gangwar and Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato paid tributes to him.
Union ministers Jual Oram, Annapurna Devi and Sanjay Seth, and Hemant Soren, state ministers Irfan Ansari, Dipika Pandey Singh, Shilpi Neha Tirkey and many legislators, bureaucrats, including DGP Anurag Gupta and Principal Secretary to the CM, Avinash Kumar, JMM workers and common people paid their tributes on the assembly complex.
Shibu Soren's body were flown to Ranchi aboard a special aircraft from Delhi. The body was accompanied by his sons Hemant and Basant and daughter-in-law Kalpana.
A flower-decked open carriage carried the body from the airport to Soren's residence in Morabadi area of Ranchi, with the chief minister and his legislator brother seated beside his father's body throughout the procession.
Kalpana Soren was seen seated in the front of the vehicle.
She remarked, "Everything has become desolate...your struggle, your love, your convictions -- this daughter of yours will never forget." Hemant Soren, in an emotional post on X, said he was passing through the most difficult phase of his life after the demise of his father.
"I am passing through the most difficult phase of my life, a pillar of Jharkhand's soul gone. No book can explain Baba's struggle, but I vow to continue his fight against injustice," the Jharkhand Chief Minister posted on X.
Mr Soren promised not to let Jharkhand "bow down" and vowed to work to realise his father's dreams by working for the oppressed and the poor.
The chief minister said he will put his foot in his father's shoes to wage a war against injustice.
"My father's shadow has disappeared... He was my guide, the root of my thoughts. He inspired thousands and millions of Jharkhandis, like a forest protecting them from sunlight," Mr Soren asserted in the long social media post written in Hindi.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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