Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on an indefinite hunger strike for 40 days, addresses farmers protesting at the Khanuari border seeking a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, in Sangrur district, Punjab, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Fasting Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Saturday (January 4, 2025) asserted that farmers “will win their struggle” for minimum support price (MSP) in spite of the pressure exerted by the government.
Addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat held at Khanauri on the inter-State boundary of Punjab and Haryana, Mr. Dallewal said farmers from all States must come forward to strengthen the ongoing agitation, and convey the message that the agitation wasn’t that of Punjab alone, but of the entire nation, and they all need minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. “The government may exert any force it wants but eventually we will win,” he said, speaking from a bed at the gathering as his hunger strike entered the 40th day. He was brought to the meeting in a stretcher.
The call for the Kisan Mahapanchayat was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), the umbrella bodies spearheading farmers’ agitation in Punjab.
Since February 13, 2024, scores of farmers have been camping at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind on the inter-State boundary after being stopped from entering Haryana, on their march to the national capital.
Meanwhile, Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian urged Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to break the impasse and revive the dialogue between the Union government and agitating farmer unions at the earliest.
He said the Punjab government supports the farmers’ legitimate demands and is optimistic on working with the Union government to achieve the goal of farmers’ prosperity.
Separately, in Haryana’s Tohana, a Kisan Mahapanchayat was held by SKM to reject the recently released draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPFAM). They also expressed deep concern over the deteriorating health condition of Mr. Dallewal.
Farmer leader Inderjit Singh placed the resolution opposing the draft of NPFAM, according to the SKM statement, which was unanimously disapproved by the Mahapanchayat. The resolution appealed to all gram panchayats to send letters to the Central government demanding the withdrawal of the draft.
Published – January 04, 2025 06:55 pm IST