As condolence messages continued to pour in over the sudden demise of Congress MP from Jalandhar Santokh Singh Chaudhary, his fellow parliamentarian and former Union minister Manish Tewari on Saturday said they were together in the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the morning and had even acknowledged each other before getting swept away in the crowd.
“@SSChaudharyMP and I were together in Yatra in the morning. He was wearing a black track top. Our eyes locked and we acknowledged each other & after a while we got swept away in the crowds,” Tewari wrote on Twitter.
“He was a noble soul & a respected colleague. RIP Choudhary Sahib as everyone called him.”
Santokh Singh Chaudhary passed away from a sudden cardiac arrest during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Saturday morning. He was 76.
The last rites will be performed at his village tomorrow.
Leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said Chaudhary was walking along with another MP from Kerala and suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to Phagwara civil hospital in an ambulance.
The foot march, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, was halted.
Expressing condolences to Chaudhary’s family, Jairam Ramesh, said there will be “some changes in schedule of the yatra which will be shared shortly.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Santokh Singh Chaudhary’s death was “a great blow to the party and organisation.”
“In this hour of grief, my heart goes out to his family, friends and followers. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “Stunned to see this news. Santokh @SSChaudharyMP was in fine fettle when I saw him last. Quiet and mild-mannered but strongly effective, he was a pillar of @INCIndia’s Lok Sabha cohort. His loss leaves us bereft. My profound condolences to his loved ones. OM Shanti.”
