Jalandhar: Scores of people, including singer Sidhu Moosewala's father, joined the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra as it resumed from the Khalsa College Ground here on Sunday after remaining suspended for 24 hours in view of the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary.
Chaudhary died on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest during the foot march. He was cremated at his native Dhaliwal village in Jalandhar on Sunday. Gandhi also attended the cremation. Gandhi offered prayers at Devi Talab temple in Jalandhar before the resumption of the march.
As the march resumed around 3 pm, singer Sidhu Moosewala's father Balkaur Singh walked with Gandhi for some distance. They walked hand in hand and both of them hugged each other. "Today in #BharatJodoYatra, Balkaur Singh Sidhu ji, father of famous Punjabi singer Late Sidhu Moosewala, along with @RahulGandhi ji gave a befitting reply to forces spreading hatred, fear and violence, said Congress in a tweet.
Later, two youths during the yatra gave a portrait of Moosewala to Gandhi. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab's Mansa district in May last year. Moosewala had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 assembly polls on Congress ticket from Mansa seat.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, MLA Pargat Singh and other party leaders took part in the march. During the yatra, Gandhi waved towards people when it was passing through Jalandhar. Many people could be seen even clicking pictures of Rahul Gandhi during the march. Gandhi got pictures clicked with an elderly woman and a girl.
The yatra will halt for the night in Adampur. The Punjab leg of the march began on Wednesday from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib. The yatra took a break on Friday in view of Lohri festival. The march, 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.
It has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. (PTI)
