Punjab farm union activists flock to Khanauri protest site for mahapanchayat

Turn up in droves to attend kisan mahapanchayat to be addressed by farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, whose indefinite fast entered its 40th day on Saturday.

Farm union activists braved the biting cold and fog to gather at the Khanauri protest site on the Punjab-Haryana border to attend the kisan mahapanchayat that would be addressed by farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, whose indefinite hunger strike entered its 40th day on Saturday.

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite fast, was brought in an ambulance to the stage for addressing the mahapanchayat convened at the Khanauri protest site on the border with Haryana on Saturday. (HT Photo)

The farmers – under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha — have been protesting at the site since February 13 last year to pressurise the Centre to accept their demands, including legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) for various crops.

Ahead of the mahapanchayat, Dallewal issued an appeal, saying: “Those who are part of the fight for a legal guarantee to the MSP must reach Khanauri as I want to have your darshan.”

The mahapanchayat is being held even as the Supreme Court has asked the Punjab government to present a compliance report on January 6 on its December 20 order of providing medical aid to Dallewal, whose health is deteriorating due to the prolonged fast.

Despite repeated efforts by the Punjab government, the fasting leader has so far declined medical aid until the Centre initiates a dialogue with the protesting farmer unions. The proposal of a meeting between the farmer unions and the Union government has not materialised so far.

The Punjab government has constituted a medical board, comprising super specialists from Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. The board found that Dallewal’s liver and kidney functions have already been affected owing to the fast, and he requires immediate hospitalisation.