Congress leader Brijendra Singh's 'Sadbhavna Yatra' (Goodwill march) in Haryana, which began on October 5, was temporarily suspended for a day on Tuesday due to the passing of his father-in-law, Sardar Bikramjit Singh Syal, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. Syal, aged 93, passed away at his residence in Noida on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. Brijendra shared the news of his father-in-law’s demise through the official 'Sadbhavna Yatra' Facebook page as well as his personal Facebook account Tuesday morning and wrote that information regarding upcoming events would be shared soon. Brijendra said Syal, who hailed from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, was a 1958-batch IPS officer and he retired as director general of the National Security Guard (NSG). Brijendra, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former MP, launched the statewide ‘Sadbhavana Yatra' Sunday from the Danoda Kalan village in Jind, along with his father, senior Congress leader and former Union minister Birender Singh. The march aims to "promote communal harmony and social goodwill", covering all 90 Assembly constituencies in Haryana and approximately 3,600 km over six months. "A large rally will be held at the end of the yatra, although the date and location for it have not yet been finalised," Birender earlier said. “In the past decade, the sense of brotherhood in Haryana has been strained. Issues like vote rigging, failure in foreign policies, international isolation, exam paper leaks, unemployment, law and order, and farmers’ concerns will be addressed during the journey," Brijendra had said. According to Brijendra, senior Congress leaders will periodically join the yatra to boost the morale of party workers. The march will be completed in two phases. He also launched a logo for the yatra, accompanied by the tagline 'Congress ka haath, Bhaichaare ke saath (The hand of Congress is with brotherhood)'. Birender earlier said, "This yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. Brijendra met with Rahul four months ago to discuss this plan. Rahul advised him to gather people in his own way and create slogans that reflect that vision. The Congress has always stood for unity and brotherhood." At the launch of the march, participants included Rahul Kaswan, the MP from Churu, Rajasthan; Aditya Surjewala, the MLA from Kaithal and son of Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala; former minister Atar Singh Saini; and Sudha Bhardwaj, the president of the Haryana Women’s Congress. Notably, local leaders from Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda's camp were absent. Birender Singh's message to Bhupinder Hooda During a public meeting at the Binain Khap platform Monday, Birender said, “We oppose those who talk about breaking the Congress. The aim of this yatra is to promote unity among all 36 communities.” Also on Monday, Birender expressed his concerns at the party's state headquarters in Chandigarh during the official takeover of the new Haryana Congress president, Rao Narender Singh. While addressing the gathering, Birender urged the party in charge, B K Hariprasad, to instruct Hooda to establish the ground-level organisational structure across the state promptly. "Hooda has 37 MLAs and can form the organisation in two hours, but there should be no discrimination while doing so," Birender told Hariprasad. In a sarcastic tone, he added, “Rao Narender Singh has become the new PCC president. If someone senior like me was appointed, many would have stood against me."
