Farmer Leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal Concludes 132-Day Fast, Pledges Continued Fight

Chandigarh, April 6 (NationPress) Determined to reignite the struggle for farmers’ rights at the opportune moment, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, aged 70, declared on Sunday the conclusion of his 132-day-long fast. He emphasized his ongoing commitment to leading protests aimed at achieving a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Dallewal made it clear that the fight to secure the legal entitlement of minimum support price based on C2+50 percent would persist, urging everyone to be prepared for a potential resurgence of sit-in protests at the right time.

The announcement to end his fast, which commenced on November 26 of the previous year, took place during a Kisan Mahapanchayat organized by the BKU (Sidhupur) in Sirhind, located in the Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab. Activists from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) rallied together to show their support for the ongoing protests.

In a straightforward manner, Dallewal, who attended the event in a wheelchair, stated, “I had intended to maintain my fast until all our 12 demands were met. However, with numerous requests coming in for me to visit various states and mobilize farmers for a national-level struggle on broader issues affecting agriculture, I felt compelled to heed those appeals and reach out to farmers nationwide.”

He asserted that achieving the MSP would require a prolonged struggle, not a quick fix, and highlighted the importance of granting economic independence to farmers, saying, “Many have referred to me as bapu (father), so I must work diligently for future generations.”

This decision to conclude his fast followed a day after Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged Dallewal to end his hunger strike.

“Discussions between representatives of the Government of India and farmer organizations concerning their demands are ongoing. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has returned from the hospital, and we wish him a swift and complete recovery. We also kindly request him to conclude his fast as we are scheduled to meet with farmer representatives for discussions on May 4 at 11 a.m.,” Chouhan shared on X.

Joining him, Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu also requested Dallewal to end the hunger strike.

The latest round of talks, the third, between the Central government and protesting farmers, predominantly from Punjab, occurred on March 19, with Union Minister Chouhan reaffirming the government’s dedication to farmer welfare. He informed the media that discussions were constructive and would continue. Farmer leaders reiterated their longstanding demands, including a legal guarantee for the MSP for crops.

The government and farmers engaged in a constructive, cordial dialogue lasting over three hours, during which various legal, economic, and other facets of the farmers’ demands were thoroughly examined, as stated in an official release.

Chouhan was accompanied by Cabinet colleagues Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal, while Punjab was represented by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian. Farmer leaders, including Dallewal, were present.

Following discussions in the last meeting, the government decided to conduct stakeholder consultations with farmer organizations nationwide, as well as with state and union territory governments and other stakeholders, including traders, exporters, and the food processing sector. It was agreed to continue talks in a positive spirit after these consultations.

However, Union Ministers assured farmers that the government would carefully consider the concerns of farmers and other stakeholders, prioritizing their interests. “The welfare of farmers is paramount,” the ministers assured. They urged the farming community to pursue dialogue and discussion over protests, emphasizing that solutions would arise only through conversation.

Immediately after the third round of talks concluded, farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Dallewal, were detained and held in different locations. Concurrently, farmers who had been staging a sit-in for over a year and had erected temporary structures at two critical borders connecting Punjab with Haryana were forcibly removed.

In defense of the government action, Punjab’s Finance Minister Harpal Cheema stated that the measure was essential for the state's economic growth. “It is crucial that we combat unemployment as well,” he added.