Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, January 14

Soft spoken, mild mannered, never easy to anger, 75-year-old Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh died suddenly on taking the first few steps of the Doaba leg of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra today. Singh has left behind a legacy which few can match.

A scion of a powerful Dalit legacy, set in motion by his father Master Gurbanta Singh; Chaudhary was a vital link in his family’s Dalit lineage and among the most influential Congress leaders in the region, who weathered many a political storm. This was his second tenure as the MP from Jalandhar (he won in 2014 and 2019). Prior to that, he had also won assembly elections thrice. He first became an MLA (Phillaur) in 1992 and also won in 1997 and 2002. He also remained a minister in Congress governments in 1992 and 2002.

He is survived by his wife Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary (former principal of Government Sports College Jalandhar) and son Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, the sitting MLA of Phillaur constituency.

While Santokh Chaudhary’s journey in politics started amid struggles and questions on whether he could shoulder the responsibilities of a political life as laid out by his father and elder brother Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, he came on his own and proved a tall leader with time. His pacifist ways found favour with the masses as his political graph would come to prove. The vacuum created by Chaudhary’s demise – especially among the Dalit populace of the region – would be hard to fill.

Condolence messages and tributes poured in from across the political spectrum today.

Known for regularly taking up issues in the Lok Sabha – he recently raised issues of resumption of stalled flights from the Adampur Airport (on December 15, 2022) and the demand of the implementation of the Minimum Support Price (MSP), as recommended by the Swaminathan Report (on December 14, 2022).

BJP leaders condole Chaudhary’s death

Colleagues and associates from the BJP party offered condolences over the leader’s sudden death today with some also questioning the equipment in the ambulance.

BJP National Executive Member and Former Minister, Punjab, Manoranjan Kalia expressed deep shock and grief over the sudden demise of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary. Kalia said S Santokh Singh Chaudhary was a visionary personality and advocate by profession. and termed the demise an irreparable loss for Jalandhar and Punjab. Kalia visited the house of Chaudhary to pay condolences to the bereaved family. Kalia said the MP’s death raised a question mark over the health services rendered by the Aam Adami Party government in Punjab because the ambulance following the Punjab Jodo Yatra, meant for Congress Leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi did not have Emergency Equipments to deal with the heart attack patient at the time when Chaudhary Santokh Singh who was in the Bharat Jodo Yatra had a massive heart attack resulting into heart failure and death. Kalia asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to fix the responsibility for the lapse.

BJP leader and Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes also visited Chaudhary’s home to offer condolences to his family. Sampla reminisced the charm of Chaudhary as a political leader and talked about the camraderie he shared with him, on the occasion.

BJP state General Secretary Rajesh Bagha also expressed condolences on Chaudhary’s death and wished his family strength to bear the irreparable loss.