Punjab: Farmers-Center talks on May 4, Chouhan reiterates
Punjab: Amid speculations that the talks between representatives of various farmer organisations and the central government delegation have ended, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged agitating farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his indefinite fast. In a post on social media site “X”, Chouhan said, “The ongoing talks between the representatives of the Government of India and the farmer organisations regarding their demands will continue uninterrupted. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has now returned from the hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery. We also request him to end his fast. As per the already fixed date with the representatives of the farmer organisations, we will meet for talks on May 4 at 11 am.” So far, delegations of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) led by Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher have met the central team thrice on February 14, February 22 and March 19. After the March 19 meeting, Dallewal, Pandher and several leaders were arrested by Punjab Police while returning from Chandigarh. In the ensuing police action, both Shambhu and Khanauri morcha sites were cleared by the authorities.
Over 1,400 farmers were arrested across the state and released in phases. After the police action, speculation was rife that the withdrawal of the morchas would mark the end of the talks with the Central government-led delegation. On April 3, after being discharged from hospital, the farmer leader reached his native village Dallewal in Faridkot district and attacked the state government, accusing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of backstabbing Punjabis and said he would end his fast when the farmers’ demand for a central law to ensure minimum support price for crops was met. He also rejected any offer of mediation between the farmers and the Centre over their demands. The farmer leader reiterated a similar statement while addressing a gathering of farmers in Patiala today. Dallewal has been on an indefinite fast since November 26 last year.
Another farmer leader and a close aide of Dallewal, Abhimanyu Kohar, said he appreciated the sentiment of Agriculture Minister Chouhan. “At the current juncture, it would not be appropriate to comment on anything. We are not going to back down from our stand of legal guarantee on MSP. We will hold a meeting and discuss the issue.” Pandher said AAP doing polarisation politics After Punjab Police randomly removed farmers from the protest site in Shambhu, Sarwan Singh Pandher, chief of the now defunct Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), today accused the ruling AAP government of playing diversionary politics in Punjab to win the Ludhiana (West) elections. He said the ruling party was “creating urban-rural divide and doing polarisation politics like the BJP-led Central government”. He said the crackdown on protesting farmer fronts in Khanauri and Shambhu was done to please online delivery startups, while no concern was shown for small shopkeepers who are shutting down their businesses. Pander said the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti will hold a meeting in Ludhiana on April 7 to plan the next course of action.
