Former Arunachal minister dies

Itanagar: Former Arunachal Pradesh Minister Padi Yubbe died at B Barooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, today after a prolonged illness.
He was 62 and survived by two wives and eight sons and six daughters, family sources said. Hailing from Bulla village in Lower Subansiri district, Yubbe served the party in various capacities like Vice-President and Organising Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), AICC member and Secretary of North East Youth Congress Coordination Committee (NEYCCC).
He was first elected to the Assembly in 1978 and served as the speaker. Prior to his election to the state assembly, he was the deputy speaker of the legislative council in 1975 in the erstwhile NEFA (North East Frontier Agency). He became a cabinet minister in 1979.
Yubbe also served as Chairman of State Planning Board and Chairman of Zonal Committee of Khadi & Village Industries Commission. Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma and Chief Minister Nabam Tuki condoled the death of Yubbe, terming him as a visionary and statesman of the state.
The death of Yubbe has created a vacuum in the state as well as in the Congress party, the governor and the chief minister said in their condolence messages. APCC president Mukut Mithi, who is presently at New Delhi, in a message condoled the demise of the former minister. (PTI)