Ranchi -The Monsoon Session of the Jharkhand Assembly resumed on Friday with members across party lines urging that Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, be posthumously conferred on late Dishom Guru Shibu Soren, revered as the architect of the Jharkhand movement.
During a condolence motion, Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Yadav said Shibu Soren had played a historic role in the statehood struggle, social reforms, and the fight for the rights of tribals and marginalised communities. He appealed for a unanimous House resolution recommending the award in Soren’s honour. The demand was widely supported by MLAs with desk-thumping.
JD(U) legislator Saryu Rai said Soren’s legacy as Dishom Guru merited national recognition. AJSU Party MLA Nirmal Mahto also pressed for a House resolution to be forwarded to the Centre.
Jairam Mahto of the Jharkhand Democratic Revolutionary Front went further, suggesting statues of Shibu Soren and other leading statehood agitators be installed atop Parasnath, the state’s highest peak.
Earlier, Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi paid tributes, recalling Soren’s role in championing prohibition, uplifting tribal society, and leading the separate state movement.
The House also expressed condolences on the deaths of former Education Minister Ramdas Soren, former Governor Satyapal Malik, veteran journalist Harinarayan Singh, and victims of recent natural disasters in Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
Following the condolence motion, proceedings were adjourned until Monday.
On the opening day of the resumed session, Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore presented a supplementary budget of ₹4,296.62 crore.
The Monsoon Session, originally scheduled from August 1–7, was postponed indefinitely after Shibu Soren’s death on August 4. It has now been rescheduled to run from August 22–28.
With inputs from IANS