E-Paper
SKM to meet Prez over their demands, Dallewal’s health
Dallewal, 67, who heads Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), has been sitting on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border since November 26 to put pressure on the Centre to accept the farmers’ demands, including legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
Chandigarh
To build pressure on the Centre to accept the demands and address concerns regarding Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s health, farmer leaders will seek time to meet President Droupadi Murmu in the first week of January.
Dallewal, 67, who heads Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), has been sitting on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border since November 26 to put pressure on the Centre to accept the farmers’ demands, including legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
The SKM Punjab unit leaders held a meeting on Tuesday and condemned the central and the Punjab governments’ “indifferent attitude”, saying they should have intervened by now as Dallewal’s health was deteriorating.
SKM leader Prem Singh Bhangu said it was decided in the meeting to jointly present a delegation to the President in view of deteriorating health of Dallewal. The national coordination committee of the SKM would seek an appointment from the President for first week in January.”
The SKM leaders, however, said there was no plan to join the ongoing protest at Shambhu and Khanauri or their call for programmes such as a Punjab ‘bandh’.
He said appeals for legal guarantee for MSP and loan waiver, among others, were old demands, for which their body was already fighting at various platforms.
The SKM has also planned a rally in Moga on January 9 in which various issues pertaining to farmers will be highlighted.
Farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and the Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
Referring to the Centre’s National Agriculture Market Policy, the SKM leaders expressed apprehension that it was another move to bring back the repealed farm laws in another form.
About Dallewal continuing his hunger strike, Bhangu said, “We have condemned the Centre for sitting silently on Dallewal’s health. We have condemned the Punjab government as well. Neither the Punjab chief minister nor his ministers are concerned. Both the central and the Punjab governments should have intervened by now. When we recently met the Punjab governor, we expressed concern over Dallewal’s health. We told the governor that the Centre should intervene as his (Dallewal’s) health was important. We also told him that the situation was volatile. If anything untoward happens, a problem of law and order can arise,” he said.
Farm leaders Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Harinder Singh Lakhowal and Darshan Pal also attended the meeting.
