Jalandhar
Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh on Saturday died of heart attack during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab’s Phillaur. He was 76.
The two-time MP collapsed during the rush in the yatra and was taken to Virk hospital in Phagwara in an ambulance.
The yatra has been stopped and Rahul Gandhi has gone to the hospital. Singh was a former Punjab minister and a sitting MP from Jalandhar. Cremation of MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh would take place tomorrow at 10.30 am at his native Gakhlan Dhaliwal village in Jalandhar.
During the yatra, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Partap Bajwa, Charanjit Channi, Mansih Tewari, Gurjeet Aujla, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Vijay Inder Singla accompanied Gandhi.
Braving cold, people joined the march.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted: “I am deeply saddened by the untimely death of Congress Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Santokh Singh Chowdhury.. May God rest his soul in peace.”
Rahul Gandhi expresses shock, suspends BJY 24 hours in respect of party MP Santokh Singh
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed shock over the sudden demise of party MP and senior leader Santokh Singh Chaudhary during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday.
He described the 76-year-old two-time MP as a hardworking leader and strong pillar of the Congress.
“Shocked by the sudden demise of Shri Santokh Singh Chowdhary. He was a down to earth hardworking leader, a good person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from youth Congress to Member of Parliament. I express my condolences to the bereaved family,” Gandhi said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday suspended its yatra in Punjab for a day as a mark of respect for party MP Santokh Singh Choudhary who died following a heart attack during the march.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also postponed his scheduled press conference at Jalandhar on January 15, and it will now take place at Hoshiarpur on January 17. Chaudhary died after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The two-time MP was taking part in the Rahul Gandhi-led march in Phillaur in Jalandhar where he fainted, said senior party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, who was also marching in the yatra.
Chaudhary was rushed to a hospital in Phagwara in an ambulance where he was declared brought dead.