Veteran Congress leader and Lok Sabha member from Punjab Santokh Singh Chaudhary died of a heart attack during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday morning. He was 76. Singh, a Dalit leader, was the sitting MP from Jalandhar.
He received Rahul Gandhi as he entered Jalandhar in the morning, gave a short speech and walked around 2km with the Yatra. He then travelled in a vehicle to the next point to oversee the arrangements for a small meeting he had planned. As Rahul arrived, Singh walked over to him along with other leaders and suddenly collapsed.
Rahul immediately sent Singh to hospital in the ambulance that accompanies the Yatra, but he was declared dead on arrival.
Congress leaders accompanying Singh said the MP had been fine since morning and hadn’t complained of any discomfort. He had been enthusiastic about the Yatra and had worked hard for several days to ensure a good response, they said.
Rahul Gandhi consoles a family member of MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, who died during the Yatra, in Jalandhar on Saturday. PTI
The two-term MP belonged to a family of Congress supporters; his father was a minister in Congress governments in Punjab, and his son is a party MLA.
Singh had risen from NSUI (Congress student wing) member to MP, serving the party for over five decades. The Congress stopped the Yatra as soon as his death was confirmed.
Rahul, who rushed to the hospital and later visited Singh’s home, will be at the funeral on Sunday morning. The Yatra will resume only after the funeral as a mark of respect for Singh.
The MP’s death leaves a void in the Congress as he was a key leader from Punjab. This is the fourth death at the Yatra over the past four months. Rahul’s media conference in Jalandhar, scheduled for Sunday, has been cancelled. He will now address the media in Hoshiarpur on January 17.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Singh’s wife, Kamaljeet Kaur, expressing sorrow and recalling how the MP had served the party selflessly all his life.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he was saddened by Singh’s death, which he described as a huge loss for the party.
