Santokh Singh Chaudhary, a Congress MP from Jalandhar, passed away on the morning of 14th January 2023. The leader was accompanying Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. This mass movement was INC’s (Indian National Congress) initiative to unite the people of India. The pan-India movement was taking its pitstop in Punjab across Ludhiana, Goraya, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Dasyua and Mukerian. Several other leaders and politicians were also present.
Chaudhary was walking alongside Gandhi during the march when he fell after his heartbeat increased rapidly. Post this; he was immediately rushed to Phagwara’s Virk hospital. He was declared dead upon arrival. The march was halted as soon as the officials conveyed the news. Rahul Gandhi made his way to the hospital shortly after receiving the information. He also met with the leader’s family to offer his respects.
Many notable political figures took to Twitter to pay their condolences. This includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwat Mann, and other leaders of the Lok Sabha.
The Punjab Congress chief has officially given a notice of suspension of the rally for tomorrow. “I haven’t spoken to Rahul Gandhi yet, but we all feel that after the last rites, we’ll start the Yatra. Till last rites, it’ll be suspended,” he quoted. The last rites will occur at Santokh Singh’s native village, Dhaliwal.
The deceased Congress MP had no history of serious ailments or disorders. He was believed to be extremely healthy and regularly got timely checkups. These facts make this mishap a shocking occurrence.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been in action since 7th September 2022 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. It set out to cover the whole nation across states and was going to be concluded in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on 30th January 2023. The initiative successfully covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Punjab leg of the tour was completing the course of action when this unfortunate event happened.
