Punjab: The Centre has invited farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 54 days at the Khanauri border, for talks that could end the year-long farmers’ agitation. In a meeting with Dallewal, Priya Ranjan, joint secretary, agriculture and farmers’ welfare department, invited him for talks at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh on February 14. “I hope Dallewal will break his fast and participate in the talks,” he said. The date has been chosen keeping in mind the model code of conduct for the Delhi assembly elections scheduled for February 5. Dallewal later agreed to undergo treatment after Kaka Singh Kotra, Abhimanyu Kohar and other farmer leaders made an emotional appeal to him to go on a hunger strike if he did not do so. Kotra said medical teams on standby started treating him soon after. Dallewal, however, said he would not eat food until the government agreed to a legal guarantee on MSP. Of the 111 farmers, who have been on a hunger strike for the last four days, 10 are from Haryana, who will end their hunger strike on Sunday afternoon. Kotra said Dallewal has expressed his wish that the first meeting should be held in Chandigarh and the second in Delhi. Khanauri witnessed a stir today when farmer organisations protesting on Punjab’s border with Haryana said they had received a “decent proposal” from the Centre regarding their demands even as the farmer groups failed to chalk out a plan of unity during their second round of talks. Sources said the Centre had laid down a condition that Dallewal would have to accept the remedy if he wanted the proposal to be implemented. Earlier, Priya Ranjan visited Khanauri and met Dallewal. After meeting the hunger strike leader, the Centre’s representatives led by Ranjan held talks with the protesting farmers for about two hours after which they made the proposal.
Without giving details of the proposal, farmer leader Kotra said, “We have received a good proposal and we are discussing its modalities.” Sources said former Punjab DIG Narinder Bhargav and former ADGP Jaskaran Singh played a key role in arranging the meeting. This was the first time since February 18 last year that representatives of the Centre held formal talks with protesting farmer leaders over their demands. The protesting farmers, led by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13 after security forces blocked their march to Delhi. On Thursday, the protesting farmer organisations had announced that a group of 101 farmers will once again attempt to take out a march from the Shambhu border to the national capital on January 21 – their fourth such attempt since December 6. The development comes at a time when election campaigning is gaining momentum in Delhi, where assembly elections are scheduled for February 5. According to the protesters, more than 40 farmers have died during the 11-month-long agitation.
