Fourth round of farmers’ unity talks today

The farmers set up their protest sites after security forces prevented them from marching to Delhi to press for their demands.

Amid concerns over the deteriorating health of fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, protesting farmer unions — Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) — are set to hold the fourth round of unity talks with Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) in Chandigarh on Thursday.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on hunger strike for the past 93 days. (HT)

While the protesting farmer unions have already accepted SKM’s invitation, there is uncertainty over the participation of SKM (Non-Political) in the meeting. SKM (Non-Political) had withdrawn from the last round of unity talks on August 12.

KMM and SKM (non-political) have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13 last year. The farmers set up their protest sites after security forces prevented them from marching to Delhi to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).

Despite three previous unity meetings between the protesting farmer unions and SKM, no consensus has been reached. A key point of contention remains SKM’s push to include a new draft of the national policy for agricultural and farmers’ movements (NPAFM) among the 12 demands of the protesting unions.

Meanwhile, concerns over the health of Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 93 days, continue to grow. According to SKM (non-political) leaders, a recent medical examination revealed alarming signs of physical deterioration.

“Medical tests revealed that Dallewal’s kidney function is declining. His creatinine levels, which should typically be below one in a healthy individual, have risen to three. Additionally, his uric acid level is 9.30—significantly above the normal threshold of 7.40,” the farmer union said.

SKM welcomes resolution against draft agri-marketing policy

New Delhi The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Wednesday welcomed a resolution passed by the Punjab assembly against the Centre’s draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing and urged other states to pass similar motions.

At a press conference on Wednesday, SKM leaders said the state has “again demonstrated its determination to lead the people of the entire country against the corporate policies being imposed by the Narendra Modi-led BJP-NDA government.” With inputs from PTI