Cong MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh cremated in native village in Jalandhar; Rahul Gandhi, state leaders attend last rites

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 15

A sea of people including political bigwigs attended the last rites of Jalandhar Congress MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh at his native Dhaliwal Qadian village on Sunday.

His son and Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary lit the pyre. He was accorded state honour as per the protocol.

Deputy Commissioner Jaspreet Singh, IG Gursharan Singh Sandhu and SSP Swarandeep laid wreaths on behalf of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

Wreaths were laid by most dignitaries including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, ex-CM Charanjit Channi, PPCC chief Amarinder S Raja Warring and LoP Partap Bajwa.

Congress leaders including Harish Chaudhary, Alka Lamba, MLAs Pargat Singh, Rajinder Beri and Bawa Henry attended the last rites. Other party leaders including Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rana Gurjit Singh, Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Mohammad Sadiq also attended the cremation.

Leaders from all parties including ex-BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia, ex-SAD MLA Jagbir Brar, Chairman of National Commission for SCs Vijay Sampla and AAP MLAs Balkar Singh, Sheetal Angural and Raman Arora were also among those present.

The 76-year-old two-time MP died on Saturday in Punjab's Phillaur. Chaudhary fainted while participating in the march. He was rushed to a private hospital in Phagwara where he was declared brought dead.

Chaudhary, a prominent Dalit leader of the Doaba region, belonged to a family with a rich political legacy. His father Master Gurbanta Singh, a Dalit stalwart, was a seven-time MLA and also a former Punjab agriculture minister.

Chaudhary's elder brother Chaudhary Jagjit Singh was a five-time MLA and had been local bodies minister. Vikramjit Singh is a Congress MLA from the Phillaur assembly seat.

Santokh Singh Chaudhary was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019. He had been an MLA thrice and was a minister in the Congress governments in 1992 and 2002.

Cutting across party lines, many leaders including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former CM Amarinder Singh, and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed grief over Chaudhary's death.

The Rahul Gandhi-led Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra will resume at 3 pm on Sunday from Khalsa College Groundin Jalandhar. It will halt for the night at Adampur, according to the schedule of the yatra.

The Punjab leg of the march began on Wednesday from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib. The yatra took a break on Friday in the wake of the Lohri festival. (with Agency inputs)

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