Fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Wednesday said he would participate in a meeting of the Central government panel, to be held in Chandigarh on Friday on farmers’ demands. Dallewal, who addressed a kisan mahapanchayat at the Khanauri protest site, said the “huge” gathering of farmers from across the country made him revitalised for participation in the meeting.
He said a parliamentary committee on agriculture, chaired by Punjab MP Charanjit Singh Channi, had already stated in its report that MSP should be legalised. “The government should make an announcement to legalise MSP on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in February 14 meeting,” he said.
Earlier in the day, while addressing the mahapanchayat, Dallewal said it was only the agriculture sector that had the potential to provide employment to the youngsters and stop the brain drain. Pointing to the recent deportation of Indians from the US, especially youngsters from Punjab and Haryana, he said, “It is the lack of job opportunities in the country that is forcing the youngsters to leave the country. The only sector which has the potential to generate large-scale employment is the agriculture sector. Had the agriculture sector been profitable, youngsters wouldn’t have been leaving this country for jobs.”
The kisan mahapanchayat was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), non-political, and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) to mark one year of the ongoing agitation on the Punjab and Haryana borders.
{{/usCountry}}The kisan mahapanchayat was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), non-political, and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) to mark one year of the ongoing agitation on the Punjab and Haryana borders.
{{/usCountry}}Dallewal said the farmers were agitating only to make the agriculture sector profitable by pressing for getting a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) based on the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.
“This agitation is to make agriculture a profitable sector and generate mass employment to stop youngsters from fleeing the country. This sector can only be profitable if MSP is legalised. Therefore, I appeal to the Union government to make the agriculture sector beneficial,” said Dallewal.
He added that the farmers had to face losses worth over ₹14 lakh crores over the past year owing to the “import and export restrictions and sale of farm produce below the MSP”.
When asked about achievement of the one year of the protest, Dallewal said, “We have been successful in creating awareness about the demand of legalising MSP to save the agriculture sector. Now, everyone knows what MSP is and why it has to be legalised.”
Dallewal addressed the mahapanchayat from his bed in a tractor-trolley. He was seen receiving medical aid during his address.
The Union government had scheduled the February 14 meeting last month when a delegation of officials from the Union agriculture ministry, led by joint secretary Priya Ranjan, met Dallewal and held a meeting with representatives of the SKM and the KMM.
Dallewal, the convener of the SKM, had been on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border point since November 26 last year. He later agreed to take medical help.