Centre-farmer talks on Feb 14, fasting Dallewal agrees to medical aid
The Centre has invited farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast unto death for the past 54 days at the Khanauri border, for talks, which may end the year-long farmers’ protest.
Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, at a meeting with Dallewal, invited him for talks on February 14 at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh. He said, “I hope Dallewal breaks his fast and participates in the talks.” The date has been chosen keeping in mind the model code of conduct for the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections.
Dallewal later agreed to take medical treatment after Kaka Singh Kotra, Abhimanyu Kohar and other farmer leaders made an emotional appeal of going on a fast unto death if he failed to do so.
Soon after, medical teams on standby started the treatment, said Kotra. Dallewal, however, maintained that he would not take food till the government agreed to a legal guarantee on the MSP.
As many as 111 farmers, who were on fast for the past four days, besides 10 from Haryana, would end their fast on Sunday afternoon.
Kotra said Dallewal had expressed the desire that the first meeting should be held in Chandigarh and the second in Delhi. Hectic activity was witnessed at Khanauri today after the farm bodies protesting on the Punjab border with Haryana said they had got a “decent proposal” from the Centre regarding their demands even as farmer groups could not draw a unity plan during their second round of talks.
Sources said the Centre had put a condition that Dallewal would have to accept treatment if they wanted the proposal to materialise. Earlier, Priya Ranjan visited Khanauri and met Dallewal. After meeting the fasting leader, representatives of the Centre, led by Ranjan, held nearly two-hour talks with the protesting farmers, following which they made the offer. Without revealing the details of the proposal, farmer leader Kotra said, “We have received a decent proposal and are discussing its modalities.” The sources said former Punjab DIG Narinder Bhargav and former ADGP Jaskaran Singh played a crucial role in arranging the meeting.
This was the first time since February 18 last year when representatives of the Centre held formal talks with the protesting farmer leaders over their demands.
The protesting farmers, led by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13 when their march to Delhi was halted by the security forces.
On Thursday, the protesting farm bodies had announced that a group of 101 farmers would once again attempt a march to the national capital from the Shambhu border on January 21 — their fourth such bid since December 6.
The development has come at a time when the election campaign is picking up in Delhi, where the Assembly poll is scheduled for February 5. According to the protesters, over 40 farmers have died during the course of their 11-month-long agitation.