Chandigarh: Even as the Centre invited the farm leaders for talks over their various demands including minimum support price (MSP) for their crops and debt waiver on February 14 in Chandigarh, their leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal – who has been fast-unto-death since November 26 and who had refused to take medicines since – took medical aid late Saturday night.
However, Dallewal, 70, will continue his hunger strike till farmers’ demands are met, farmer leaders said releasing pictures showing Dallewal taking medical aid with an intravenous drip. Dallewal, who is also a cancer patient, had not been taking medicines despite his worsening health and doctors attending on him also warning that anything could have happened to him.
The headway pertaining to medical aid for Dallewal and meeting with farmer came late Saturday night after a delegation of the Union agricultural ministry led by joint secretary Priya Ranjan held talks with Dallewal and leaders Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) at Khanauri border protest site. The delegation also appealed to Dallewal to take medical aid so that he can take part in the February 14 meeting.
Meanwhile, a group of 101 farmers who had begun their fast-unto-death on January 15 last in solidarity with Dallewal at their protest site at Khanauri border of Punjab and Haryana, ended their fast after Dallewal asked them to do so. A group of 10 other farmers from Haryana who had joined them on January 17, also ended their fast.
Pertinently, the Centre had earlier held four rounds of talks with the protesting farmers on February 8, 12, 15 and 18 last year in Chandigarh, though the same had remained inconclusive.
It may be recalled that a large number of farmers have been camping and protesting at heavily barricaded Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13 last year to press for their demands and had made several attempts to take their “Delhi chalo’’ foot march towards Delhi but the same were thwarted by Haryana police and Central forces by raining tear-gas shells leaving several of them injured.
NO DHARNA TODAY
Meanwhile, an SKM statement said that in view of the positive development regarding the health of Dallewal, SKM called upon all units to send out memorandum to members of Parliament through email instead of holding “Kisan dharna’’ at MP offices on January 20. Calling to make SKM’s all-India tractor rally on January 26, a success, the statement said that the SKM’s general body will meet in Delhi on January 24to announce its agitation programmes.
