MP Congress leaders gift Rs 5 lakh piggybank to kids of couple who committed suicide
Bhopal (PTI): Congress leaders have gifted a Rs 5 lakh 'gullak' (piggybank) to the children of a couple who committed suicide after accusing the ED and some BJP members of harassment in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district.
They said the gesture was in keeping with sentiments of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, to whom these children had gifted their piggybank when he visited the state as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
Former minister Sajjan Singh Verma, state Congress media department's chairman Mukesh Nayak and other party leaders reached Ashta town in Sehore district on Tuesday to meet the two children of the deceased businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife Neha.
They presented the kids a piggybank of Rs 5 lakh.
Talking to reporters in Ashta town, Verma said "As per sentiments of respected Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has fulfilled its duty by gifting a piggybank to the children and will support them in their hour of crisis and grief. We will also take the responsibility of their education and other needs."
He slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for doing politics on the issue instead of sympathising with the children.
The couple's children had gifted their piggybank to Gandhi during his foot march and were fondly called a "gullak team," said Congress leaders.
Manoj Parmar and his wife were found hanging at their home in Ashta town on last Friday.
In a purported suicide note that surfaced on social media, Parmar alleged he was being harassed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and BJP leaders. Parmar also urged Gandhi and other Congress leaders to take care of his two school-going children.
State minister Prahlad Singh Patel had rubbished the allegations that the ED and BJP leaders harassed the couple.
According to the ED, its Bhopal zonal official carried out searches on December 5 at four premises in Sehore and Indore districts in connection with a matter of Parmar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The search covered residential premises of the key persons who were beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime or actively aided or abetted such persons in a bank fraud case, the ED had said in a statement, claiming to have recovered incriminating documents.
As per the ED's statement, the agency launched an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of state-run bank PNB.
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Rahul Gandhi joins Haryana Congress leader's 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined the 'Sadbhav Yatra' of Haryana Congress leader Brijendra Singh here.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Gurugram in the evening and joined the yatra. He also walked some distance with Brijendra, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and other leaders.
Huge crowds had turned up for the occasion.
Later, Gandhi proceeded to the venue where he addressed a public gathering.
Leader of Opposition in Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala, B K Hariprasad, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, were also present.
Brijendra Singh had on Thursday said it is a matter of joy for them that Gandhi was joining the 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram-Badshahpur, "thereby strengthening the Indian National Congress' campaign for brotherhood and harmony".
The 'Sadbhav Yatra' began from Danoda village at Narwana in Jind on October 5, 2025, and has covered 85 of the 90 assembly segments in the state.
The foot march was started by Brijendra Singh, son of Congress veteran Birender Singh, to highlight several national and regional issues.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh had asked all party leaders to take part in Friday's event.
Days before his yatra began in October, Brijendra Singh, who narrowly lost the 2024 assembly polls from Jind's Uchana Kalan, accused the ruling BJP of playing "divisive politics" and said that "sadbhav" (harmony) has come under stress in the last decade.
Brijendra Singh was a sitting MP from Hisar for the BJP when he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election and switched over to the Congress. He also alleged that the saffron party creates a wedge in society to achieve its political purpose.
The 'padyatra' has so far covered 85 assembly constituencies in Haryana, traversing more than 2,700 kilometres.
Addressing the public gathering, Brijendra Singh said the yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he took the party's vision and values directly to the people of the country.
Singh said the yatra has highlighted issues like "Vote Chori" (vote theft), unemployment, poor law and order situation, agrarian distress, and issues related to government employees, labourers and traders.
"Sadbhav (harmony) and bhaichara (brotherhood), which the BJP is attempting to weaken, are the messages of this yatra," he said, adding that its slogan is "Congress ka haath bhaichara ka saath".
"This yatra is a natural extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Brijendra Singh said.
