Jharkhand ex CM and leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Shibu Soren passed away at the age of 81. He was suffering from kidney-related issues and passed away in Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi.
The news was announced by his son and Jharkhand present CM Hemant Soren. An emotional Hemant posted on X saying our beloved ‘dishom guruji’ is no more. I feel like I have lost everything.
Shibu Soren was born in Ramgadh which is now part of Bihar state. He is survived by two sons, wife and a daughter. While Hemant Soren is the CM his other son Basant Soren is a Jharkhand MLA.
Shibu Soren had founded Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1972 along with communist leaders AK Roy and Kurmi Mahato.
Born into a santhal family, Soren fought for a separate Jharkhand state. The state was formed in 2000 and he became the CM in 2005. He won as the CM thrice, though he could not complete terms all the three times.
In 2004, he was inducted into Manmohan Singh’s cabinet as a minister. But he could not complete his term as he was found guilty of killing his ex secretary, in a case from 1974.
He had to resign from the post. It was the first time that a cabinet minister had to resign for being found guilty of murder. However, later, the Delhi High Court gave a judgement saying he was not guilty.
In his 40-yr long political journey, Shibu Soren was in Lok Sabha 8 times and was in Rajya Sabha 2 times.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi expressed their condolences. PM Modi took to X and said that Shibu Soren rose from lower strata and fought for the cause of girijans, the poor and down-trodden. My thoughts are with Hemant Soren, he wrote.
