E-Paper
Agri minister Chouhan ‘ignoring’ Punjab farmers, say protesting leaders
Addressing the media at the Khanauri protest site, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal’s health is deteriorating by the day and Union government ‘arrogance’ has crossed all limits.
Protesting farmer leaders on Wednesday slammed Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for meeting farmers of poll-bound Delhi while ‘ignoring’ the struggle of the cultivators stationed at the Punjab-Haryana border for the past 11 months.
Amid the ‘deteriorating’ health of fasting veteran farm leader, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the farm unions once again urged the Centre to initiate talks.
Dallewal has been on hunger strike since November 26 last year over farmers’ various demands including seeking a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Addressing the media at the Khanauri protest site, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal’s health is deteriorating by the day and Union government ‘arrogance’ has crossed all limits.
“ We are not against Chouhan meeting Delhi farmers. There are only 21,000 farmers in Delhi. The minister has time to meet farmers of Delhi. But he has no time to see lakhs of farmers who have been sitting on roads in extreme weather conditions and Dallewal who is sitting on a fast-unto-death. We do not have new demands. We only want the implementation of promises made by the successive governments with farmers,” he said.
His reactions came amid reports that Chouhan on Tuesday met a group of farmers in Delhi and said that several central government schemes meant for farmers’ welfare have faced hurdles in their implementation in the national capital.
“We humbly request him (Chouhan) to take some time out from his busy schedule and listen to the grievances of protesting farmers,” Kohar said.
Kohar said Dallewal on Wednesday refused to meet anyone as he has difficulty speaking due to his “deteriorating” health.
The fasting farm leader refused to meet Samajwadi Party’s delegation led by Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik and instead senior farmer leader Kaka Singh Kotra spoke to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the phone.
Later in the evening, senior police officers led by Patiala Range DIG Mandeep Sidhu also held a meeting with protesting farmer leaders after Dallewal refused to meet anyone.
Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
