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Farmers call for ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ on Jan 4; no pressure to be on fast, says Dallewal
Farmers on Saturday called for a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” at the Khanauri protest site on January 4 where farmers from all over the country will participate. While addressing a press conference, farm leader Abhimanyu Kohar said it is farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who wanted to meet farmers from across the country for whom he had been fighting for nearly four decades.
Farmers on Saturday called for a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” at the Khanauri protest site on January 4 where farmers from all over the country will participate.
While addressing a press conference, farm leader Abhimanyu Kohar said it is farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who wanted to meet farmers from across the country for whom he had been fighting for nearly four decades.
“Both the forums, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM, non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), respecting the desire of Dallewal have announced this mahapanchayat. Farmers from across the country will participate in the mahapanchayat on January 4 and Dallewal will address them,” said Kohar.
In the backdrop of the Supreme Court coming down heavily on the Punjab government for not shifting farmer leader Dallewal, who has been fasting for over a month, to a hospital, Dallewal said that the apex court “should issue the directions to the Union government and not to the state government”.
After today’s hearing in the apex court about the contempt case against the Punjab government, Dallewal said, “I was shocked when the Supreme Court, while making observation against Punjab Government’s plea of issuing directions to the Union government, said that they won’t talk (go ahead) with any such pre-condition. For once, I thought these words were coming from the Union government, but I was surprised that it was the apex court that made this statement.” He clarified that the fight was against the Union government, and not with the Punjab government.
On Saturday, in an unprecedented hearing, a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and Sudhanshu Dhulia gave the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, giving it the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if the situation warrants.
Expressing helplessness, the Punjab government said it is facing huge resistance from the protesting farmers who have encircled Dallewal and are preventing him from being taken to a hospital.
The court also termed the conduct of some farmer leaders accompanying Dallewal surprising and questionable.
Responding to it, Dallewal, in a video message, said, “I am sitting on a fast. Who gave this report to the Supreme Court and who spread this misconception that I have been kept hostage, where did such a thing come from?
He added, “Seven lakh farmers of this country have committed suicide due to debt. To save farmers is necessary, therefore, I am sitting here, I am not under anyone’s pressure.”
In his message, Dallewal also said he had written a letter to the Supreme Court, requesting it to direct the Centre to accept the farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of the minimum support price on crops.
-- With PTI inputs
