Chandigarh: Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal Sunday ended his hunger strike, which he had started November 26 last year to press for various demands of agitating farmers, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for crops.
The announcement came a day after Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu appealed to him to end his fast-unto-death.
Dallewal announced that he was ending his indefinite fast at a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ organised at the grain market in Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab.
At the same time, he asserted that their fight for the legal guarantee on MSP for crops and other demands continues.
“You all have said (to me) to end the fast-unto-death. For me, ‘sangat’ (people) is ‘rabb da roop’ (a form of God). I am indebted to you for looking after the agitation the way I had said. I respect your sentiments,” said Dallewal, who addressed the gathering from a stretcher.
“The ‘morcha’ (agitation) continues. Even today I do not want to end the indefinite fast but you have asked me time and again (to end fast) and I respect it.
“But I want to ask you and get an assurance that we will have to put up a stronger ‘morcha’. The fight is on. The MSP (guarantee) has to be taken and a bigger ‘morcha’ has to be put up. Do you agree on holding a bigger ‘morcha’,” he asked the gathering.
“The government is alert and it knows farmers can fight. The way you took care of the ‘morcha’, the government has seen it,” he said.
He asked the farmers’ gathering to raise their hands in a show of support for the agitation.
“Dear friends, your order is like a direction of God,” said Dallewal, who was visibly emotional.
“It is not my wish, but with a heavy heart, I accept your order,” said Dallewal with folded hands as the grain market reverberated with slogans of ‘Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Zindabad’ and ‘Sardar Jagjit Singh Dallewal Zindabad’.
The development comes more than a fortnight after Punjab Police cracked down on agitating farmers, detaining their leaders in Mohali when they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Agriculture Minister Chouhan in Chandigarh.
The March 19 meeting was organised to discuss the farmers’ demands, especially the MSP guarantee.
Police also evicted farmers and dismantled temporary structures from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points where the sit-ins were being held.
Saturday, Union Minister Chouhan appealed to Dallewal to end his hunger strike.
In a post on X, he said, “The ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the Government of India and the representatives of farmers’ organisations regarding their demands is continuing.
“Farmer leader Shri Jagjit Singh Dallewal has now returned from hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery. We also request him to end his hunger strike and we will meet with the representatives of the farmers’ organisations for talks at 11 am of May 4 as per the already decided date.”
A similar appeal was made by Union Minister Bittu Saturday.
Dallewal is a senior leader of a joint forum of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which were spearheading the agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points in support of their various demands.
Dallewal began his indefinite hunger strike November 26 last year to press the Centre to accept the farmers’ demands.
During his prolonged fast, his health had “deteriorated” but he continued to resist medical assistance until the government accepted farmers’ demands. A team of doctors had also been deployed at the Khanauri site to look after him.
His frail health had earlier drawn the attention of the Supreme Court, which had put the onus on the Punjab government officials and doctors to decide on his hospitalisation.
Even a Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee, headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nawab Singh, had met Dallewal at the protest site, urging him to take medical aid.
After the Centre invited the farmer leaders for talks in January, Dallewal started taking medical aid at the Khanauri protest site, but did not end his fast.
Dallewal, who is the president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), hails from Dallewal village in Faridkot. Be it inadequate compensation for the acquisition of farmland, pending payment of farmers or cases of farmers’ suicides, Dallewal has been at the forefront of raising these issues.
He had earlier gone on fast in support of farmers’ issues in March 2018, January 2019, January 2021, November 2022 and June 2023.
Before the start of his fast unto death in November last year, Dallewal had transferred his 17-acre land to his son, daughter-in-law and grandson.
Dallewal’s BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) was part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which had spearheaded the 2020 farmers’ stir against the now-repealed three central farm laws. But it broke away after SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal formed the Samyukta Samaj Morcha to fight the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.
Dallewal later formed the SKM (Non-political) by involving like-minded farmer leaders.
PTI
