Jalandhar MP dies during ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Phillaur (Jalandhar), January 14

Congress MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh Chaudhary died here today after suffering a heart attack during former party president Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. He was 76.

A prominent Dalit face of Punjab, the two-term MP collapsed during the rush in the yatra around 8.30 am. The yatra, which had resumed about an hour and a half ago from Ladhowal in Ludhiana after a day’s Lohri break, was suspended for another day as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

The MP and his son and Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary had received the yatra minutes before the incident. Attired in thick woollens, Chaudhary was visibly excited about the yatra as he was seen raising ‘Bharat Jodo’ and ‘Rahul Gandhi zindabad’ slogans from a ‘Sarv Dharam Samaj’ (representing all faiths) stage that he had set up at the entry point of Phillaur. He had got various religious leaders clicked with Rahul near the stage and had further walked about 2 km till the next stoppage at Kusht Ashram.

Coming out of the ashram after making Rahul meet lepers, he was walking and interacting with his Parliament colleague Jothimani from Tamil Nadu when he collapsed. “He greeted me. But soon he kept slipping down, which is when I raised the alarm,” she said.

Everyone in the yatra, including Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, former ministers Pargat Singh and Vijay Inder Singla, Punjab Youth Congress chief Brinder Dhillon and even Rahul, turned back to see what had happened. Within minutes, the MP was taken to a private hospital in Phagwara where he was declared brought dead.

Rahul too had reached the hospital and later visited the MP’s house to express condolences. He spent about 40 minutes with them. The family said the cremation would be held tomorrow at 10.30 am at their native Dhaliwal Qadian village in Jalandhar.

Congress media in-charge Jairam Ramesh said the yatra would resume on Sunday from Lyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar, skipping Goraya and Phagwara. He said the yatra would now pass through Jalandhar on a sombre note, which meant that DJs, music systems, dancing troops and decorative trucks would not be used.

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