Imphal, February 22 The Manipur government has declared a three-day state mourning, starting Sunday, as a mark of respect for the late BJP MLA, Vungzagin Valte, according to an official statement.
The 61-year-old Valte, a Zomi tribal legislator from the Thanlon constituency, died at a private hospital in Gurugram on Saturday afternoon. He had sustained injuries in a mob attack during the early days of ethnic violence in 2023.
During the mourning period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all government buildings across Manipur, and no official entertainment events will be held, the statement said.
Valte had been undergoing treatment for serious injuries sustained in a mob attack in Imphal's Nagamapal area when ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, and he had gone to Delhi for medical treatment. After nearly two years of treatment, Valte returned home to Churachandpur, accompanied by his wife, in April last year.
On February 7, his health condition suddenly deteriorated, and he was taken to the capital the next day via an air ambulance, his family said.
Valte was first elected to the assembly on a Congress ticket in 2012 from the Thanlon seat. Five years later, he was re-elected but on a BJP ticket and became a minister for the general administration and transport departments. He was re-elected to the assembly in 2022.
Manipur Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh and his Mizoram counterpart Lalduhoma were among those who condoled the MLA's death.
