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Farmer leader Dallewal hospitalised after falling ill during rally in Barnala
Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal began experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomited multiple times during the protest, prompting his hospitalisation.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was attending the mahapanchayat organised by Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Sidhupur, at Dhanaula Mandi in Barnala, was admitted to a private hospital here after he fell ill during the event.
Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal began experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomited multiple times during the protest, prompting his hospitalisation.
“Currently, he is admitted to the emergency ward, and doctors have stated that his health has deteriorated due to a prolonged fast,” Kohar added.
Veteran farmer leader on Sunday (April 6) ended his hunger strike which he had started on November 26 last year to press for various demands, 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.
Barnala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sarfaraz Alam said that the farmers took Dallewal to the hospital and there was no involvement of the administration in this matter.
Kaka Singh Kotra, general secretary of BKU Sidhupur, said that, according to the doctor, the ultrasound and X-ray reports are normal. “However, the abdominal pain could be due to the prolonged fast and the lemon water the leader consumed.”
The rally had been called to protest against the March 19 police action when the Punjab Police evicted the protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri sites, detaining the farmers’ leaders who were on the way back from Chandigarh after a meeting with the central delegation led by Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Dallewal, who heads the BKU-Sidhupur, was brought to the event in an ambulance, and delivered his speech while lying on a bed. During his address, he criticised the Punjab government, accusing it of betraying farmers and resorting to violence.
“Instead of taking action against those who stole farmers’ tractors, trailers, air coolers, gas cylinders, and other supplies at protest sites, the government is filing cases against those who helped recover the stolen items. This will not be tolerated,” Dallewal said, holding the Punjab government and police administration complicit in the looting. He also demanded that the government compensate farmers for their losses.
Dallewal said that a meeting of farmer unions will be held soon to discuss the next course of action. Dallewal is a joint convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) which, along with the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), was spearheading the agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points in support of their various demands.
The veteran farmer leader reaffirmed his commitment to the farmers’ cause and said: “My life is entrusted to the people, and I will continue to fight for their rights till my last breath.” He also announced that anti-oppression conferences would be organised across Punjab in response to the government’s action against the farmers.
