Former Chhattisgarh minister, Congress leader Chanesh Ram Rathiya dies of COVID-19

Former Chhattisgarh minister and veteran Congress leader Chanesh Ram Rathiya died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Raigarh in the early hours of Monday, a health official said. He was 78 years old. 

He is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters. His elder son Laljeet Singh Rathiya is currently a Congress legislator from Dharamjaigarh seat in Chhattisgarh. 

Rathiya, a prominent tribal leader from north Chhattisgarh, was elected as an MLA for the first time in 1977 from Dharamjaigarh constituency in the then undivided Madhya Pradesh. He subsequently won five more Assembly elections in a row from the same seat.

He served as animal husbandry minister in the Digvijaya Singh led-Congress government in erstwhile Madhya Pradesh, and was the food and civil supplies minister in the Ajit Jogi government (2000-2003) after the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2000.

"Rathiya, who was suffering from age-related ailments, was admitted in a private hospital here on Saturday after testing positive for coronavirus. He died at around 1 am," Raigarh Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr S N Keshari said.