UP: Eight-time Duddhi MLA Vijay Gond laid to rest as per tribal customs

Sonbhadra (UP), Jan 9 (PTI) Vijay Singh Gond, senior tribal leader and Samajwadi Party MLA from the Duddhi Assembly constituency, was laid to rest on Friday in Sonbhadra district following Gond tribal customs, under which burial is practised.

An eight-time MLA from Duddhi, Gond, 71, passed away on Thursday at a hospital in Lucknow after a prolonged illness related to kidney ailments.

His mortal remains reached his residence in Duddhi late Thursday night, where a large number of people gathered to pay their last respects.

On Friday, the body was kept at his residence for public viewing, where District Magistrate B N Singh, SP Abhishek Verma and several other senior officials paid tributes to the departed leader.

Uttar Pradesh minister Sanjeev Gond paid homage to Gond and recalled how he devoted his life to the cause of tribal welfare and the protection of “jal, jungle and zameen” (water, forest and land).

Former Chhattisgarh home minister Ramvichar Netam, Uttar Pradesh SC/ST Commission vice-chairman Jeet Singh Kharwar, and leaders of various political parties also offered their condolences.

The mortal remains were later taken to his ancestral village Katauli, where he was buried as per Gond tribal traditions in the presence of a large number of villagers and supporters.

Gond, a prominent tribal leader, was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from Duddhi eight times since 1980, when he won on a Congress ticket.

He won the seat again as a Congress nominee in 1985, as an Independent in 1989, and represented the Janata Dal in 1991 and 1993.

He was elected on a Samajwadi Party ticket in 1996 and 2002, and most recently in the bypoll held in 2024.

The by-election was necessitated after sitting BJP MLA Ramdular Gond was sentenced to 25 years in jail for the rape of a minor girl.

During the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, Gond served as a minister of state.

Known for raising issues concerning tribal rights and welfare, he was regarded as a grassroots leader.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and several senior leaders condoled Gond’s death, terming it an irreparable loss to the region and the tribal community. PTI COR KIS ARI