Imphal: Tongbram Mangibabu, a former Manipur cabinet minister, died after a prolonged illness at the Shija Hospital, Imphal West District on Wednesday.
He was 75 and is survived by his wife, 3 daughters and 2 sons.
He was imprisoned twice in Imphal Jail in 1968 and 1969 in connection with the Statehood demand movement launched by the erstwhile Socialist Party.
Manipur got statehood under the Indian Union in 1972. For the first time, he was elected to the 6th Manipur Legislative Assembly on Janata Dal Ticket in 1965 from the Thanga Assembly constituency.
He became a Cabinet Minister of Co-operation and Art & Culture in the year 1997.
In 2007, he was re-elected from the same constituency to the 9th Manipur Legislative Assembly on Indian National Congress (INC) ticket and became the Government Chief Whip and in 2012, he was re-elected to the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly on INC ticket.