Congress MP Santokh Chaudhary Passes Away After Heart Attack During Bharat Jodo Yatra, March Halted

Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary passed away on Saturday morning after his health deteriorated during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab.

Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary passed away on Saturday morning after his health deteriorated during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Punjab.

Congress' Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary died at the age of 76 on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, following which the march was halted.

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. He said Chaudhary was rushed to a hospital in Phagwara in an ambulance.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also tweeted condoling the untimely death of the Congress leader.

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed Thursday morning from Doraha as part of its Punjab leg, with scores of locals joining it. The Punjab leg of the foot march began on Wednesday from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib.

During the yatra, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, MPs Amar Singh, Gurjit Singh Aujla, former MLA Gurkirat Kotli, Punjab Youth Congress chief Brinder Singh Dhillon and several other party leaders accompanied Rahul Gandhi.

Braving cold weather conditions, scores of people joined the foot march. Many party supporters were carrying the national flag during the yatra.

On Wednesday before the start of the Punjab leg of the yatra, Rahul Gandhi had paid obeisance at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib.

The Congress MP on Wednesday had also interacted with senior ex-servicemen and a panel of Punjabi historians, economists, sociologists and agricultural experts.

According to the schedule of the Punjab leg of the yatra, the march will pass through Ludhiana, Goraya, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Dasyua and Mukerian.

A rally will be held at Pathankot on January 19 before the yatra enters Jammu and Kashmir.

The Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The march has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.