Extending their support to the farmers’ demands, a delegation of the ruling AAP from Punjab met farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at the Khanauri protest site on Wednesday and urged him to undergo medical treatment, saying his health was “important”. is.
Dallewal’s fast unto death entered its 31st day on Wednesday.
The delegation included Punjab Minister and AAP State Unit President Aman Arora, Ministers Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Balbir Singh, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Tarunpreet Singh Sond, Laljit Singh Bhullar and the Working President of the state unit, Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, among others. .
Dallewal (70) has been fasting unto death at the Khanauri border since November 26 to pressure the Center to accept farmers’ demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).
The farmer leader has had nothing during his fast and is taking only water, doctors from an NGO who visited him said earlier.
They also described his condition as ‘critical’.
Doctors examine him regularly. However, despite his deteriorating health, Dallewal has refused to undergo any treatment.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Dallewal, Aman Arora said farmers had to agitate at Delhi’s borders for a year against the now repealed farm laws due to the Centre’s ‘wrong policies’. For the past ten months, farmers were once again agitating at Shambhu. and Khanauri borders for their demands.
He alleged that the Center had not kept its promises to farmers when the farm laws were repealed.
“It has been a month of Dallewal’s fast. His agitation is for genuine demands and he is fighting for Punjab but we know Centre’s indifferent attitude,” Arora said.
“We told Dallewal Sahab that the AAP government, our party and the entire Punjab are supporting them in their agitation. But we told him that the health of whoever is leading is important for the agitation to be successful and achieve their goal,” Arora said. .
Arora said AAP MPs along with allies have been raising the farmers’ issue in Parliament from time to time, but the Center is not ready to listen.
He also said that recently a delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had raised the issue of Dallewal’s health with Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and urged him to intervene and apply pressure at the Center to initiate talks with the protesting farmers.
“Today we have requested Dallewal ji that if he gives up his hunger strike, it will be fine,” Arora said, adding that if the farmer leader wants to continue his hunger strike “at least he should not deny medical treatment if his internal organs. ” are also affected”.
“We came with the hope that Dallewal will accept our request,” he said.
However, later farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said that until the legal guarantee for the MSP demand is not accepted, Dallewal’s fast will continue as before.
“Dallewal ji made this amply clear from the stage yesterday,” Kohar said.
Dallewal told Aman Arora on Wednesday that crop diversification cannot take place until Center gives legal guarantee to MSP.
Arora said given the Centre’s “indifference and shamelessness”, “we all know that this agitation will continue for a long time and the health of this Dallewal Sahab is important”.
Replying to a question, he said that if Dallewal tells AAP or the party government in the state that something specific needs to be done so that they can vigorously fight the agitation for their genuine demands, we are ready to do so.
To another question, Arora said, “If farmers want, we can call an all-party meeting. But everyone knows what would be the BJP’s stand as farmers’ demands relate to Centre. What we say, such a strategy should be there and it should produce results. .”
Asked whether Dallewal has said that he should not be evicted from his protest site, Aman Arora said the government has no intention of doing so and termed anyone spreading such rumors as baseless.
Minister of Health Dr. Balbir Singh said they are concerned about Dallewal’s health.
He said our medical team had already been deputed to the protest site.
“We are concerned about his health. We are telling him that he should at least undergo medical treatment. If they agree, we can start the treatment at the site itself,” Balbir Singh said.
Earlier in the day, Amritsar Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla also met Dallewal in Khanauri.
Aujla said he went to inquire about his well-being.
Expressing concern over his extended fast, Aujla told reporters that he asked Dallewal that people need his guidance and people need leaders like him and his health is important.
He said Dallewal told him that political leaders should put pressure on the central government regarding farmers’ demands.
Farmers, under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march towards Delhi was stopped by security forces.
A “jatha (group)” of 101 farmers attempted to march on foot to Delhi three times between December 6 and 14, but were stopped by security personnel in Haryana.
Published by:
Vadapalli Nithin Kumar
Published on:
December 26, 2024