Jharkhand minister Jagarnath Mahto's body was brought to Ranchi on Friday morning and it was kept at Jharkhand Assembly premises for ministers and MLAs to pay their last tributes.

Mahto, 56, the school education and literacy minister died on Thursday at a hospital in Chennai where he was undergoing treatment.

At Ranchi's Birsa Munda airport, hordes of leaders from ruling as well as opposition parties including Chief Minister Hemant Soren, leader of opposition and former chief minister Babulal Marandi, Union minister Annapurna Devi, cabinet ministers Mithilesh Thakur and Alamgir Alam were present to receive his body.

"He was such a leader who always fought for Jharkhand and its people. It's a great loss to the state," Thakur said at the airport.

Assembly Speaker Rabindranath Mahto, Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Parliamentary Affairs minister Alamgir Alam, Union minister Annapurna Devi, Jharkhand Cabinet ministers Champai Soren, Badal Patralekh, Banna Gupta and Mithilesh Thakur, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, Independent MLA Saryu Roy and many others offered floral tributes.

After the Assembly, his body will be kept at JMM office. From there, it will be taken to his native place Simrakuli Alargo in Bokaro district where the last rites will be performed with state honour. Mahto was airlifted to Chennai last month due to health complications. He had undergone a lung transplant in November 2020 after suffering from COVID-19. He is survived by a son and four daughters.

The Jharkhand government declared mourning for two days from April 6 in honour of Mahto, during which no official ceremony would be held.

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