In Sangrur for the party’s Insaaf Rally, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also met families of people affected by the drug menace and those who have lost kin to violence.
The leaders interacted with the families of Sukhwinder Singh Calcutta, Gurmel Singh Toot and Parkash Chand, assuring them that the Congress party stood firmly by their side in their fight for justice. He had reportedly criticised the AAP government’s handling of the flood situation. Four gangsters took responsibility on social media, alleging he was a police informer, but their claims remain unverified. “A few years ago, I met Sidhu Moose Wala when he had come to see me in my office. I did not know him at the time. He came across as an impressive young man. He had a tattoo. I had not listened to his songs then. The Congress rally drew thousands of party workers and supporters from across Punjab, particularly the Malwa region. The district, considered a political stronghold of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is the home turf of chief minister Bhagwant Mann and three cabinet ministers. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi drew louder cheers from the gathering than Rahul Gandhi and other senior Punjab Congress leaders, including state party president Pargat Singh and former president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Gurmel Singh Toot, former sarpanch of Toot village in Tarn Taran, was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants on September 3, 2025.
Congress Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi said Kharge and Gandhi listened to the families’ concerns and assured them of the Congress party’s continued support in addressing their challenges. I was told that he was a good person, a musician and wanted to join the Congress. He was a dynamic, talented young man and we made him join the party,” Gandhi said. The Congress leader said what happened to Moose Wala had “become a fashion today”.
