New Delhi: Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Sunday (April 6) ended his hunger striker after 131 days during a Kisan mahapanchayat in Fatehgarh Sahib. The announcement came a day after a couple of Union Ministers appealed him to break his fast, which lasted for more than four months.
On Saturday (April 5), Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu appealed Dallewal to end the fast-unto-death.
The fast, which was started on November 26, 2024, was an act of protest against the union government. The core demand from the farmer leader was a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
At the Kisan mahapanchayat, Dallewal said he accepted the request of fast-unto-death, but promised to continue the fight for the legal rights of the farmers, including the MSP guarantee.
“You all have said (to me) to end the fast-unto-death. For me ‘sangat’ (people) is ‘rabb da roop’ (a form of God). I am indebted to you for looking after the agitation the way I had said. I respect your sentiments,” said Dallewal, who addressed the gathering from a stretcher.
“The ‘morcha’ (agitation) continues. Even today I do not want to end the indefinite fast but you have asked me time and again (to end fast) and I respect it. But I want an assurance that we will put up a stronger ‘morcha’. The fight is on. The MSP (guarantee) has to be taken and a bigger ‘morcha’ has to be put up. Do you agree on holding a bigger ‘morcha’.”
“The government is alert and it knows farmers can fight. The way you took care of the ‘morcha’, the government has seen it,” he added.
Although Dallewal agreed on attending the meeting with union ministers on May 4, the 70-year-old farmer leader showed apprehension over farm leaders getting arrested in the name of invitation for discussions.
Dallewal is a senior leader of a joint forum of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (a non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM).
