Farmers will hold tractor march on Republic Day, central government is not sincere towards farmers
To further intensify the 11-month-old inter-state border Kisan Morchas and the 43-day-long fast-unto-death movement of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and to increase pressure on the central government to accept their demands, farmers have announced to hold tractor marches across the country on January 26 on the occasion of Republic Day. This decision was taken in an important meeting of the senior leadership of the United Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan-Mazdoor Morcha at the Dhabi Gujran border. In addition to burning effigies of the central government across the country on January 10, both the forums have already planned to burn copies of the Mandi Marketing Draft across the country on January 13 on the occasion of Lohri. Meanwhile, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar and other leaders said during the press conference that during all the three planned programs, not a single village in the country should remain which does not participate in these demonstrations. Farmer leaders Surjit Phool and Dilbagh Singh Harigarh said that the farmers’ movement is a common struggle of the people of the country, to win which now not only all the states of the country but also all the villages need to exert their full strength. Sarwan Singh Pandher reiterated that the Centre should give up its stubbornness and accept the demands of the farmers. On the other hand, citing the farmers’ struggle being against the Centre and the statements of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, many other farmer leaders including Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande, Jaswinder Longowal, Lakhwinder Sirsa, Manjit Niyal and Raj Kheri said that the Supreme Court should issue instructions to the Central Government to resolve the farmers’ demands so that the issue can be resolved because Dallewal’s health is continuously deteriorating.
It is worth mentioning here that the Punjab government recently submitted a report in the Supreme Court regarding the medical facilities provided to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast to death for farmers’ demands. The Punjab government had sought some more time from the Supreme Court, after which the Supreme Court has given the next date for hearing on Friday, January 10.
Recently, the High Power Committee formed by the Supreme Court met Jagjit Singh Dallewal. After this, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said that during the meeting, Jagjit Singh Dallewal had said that my life is not more important than the lives of the 7 lakh farmers who have committed suicide, but the Chairman of the High Power Committee, Justice Nawab Singh, said that your life is also important for us. Kohar said that Dallewal clearly told the committee that whether the MSP guarantee law is made during my lifetime or after me, it does not matter, I only maintain that the MSP guarantee law should be made. Along with this, Dallewal asked the committee to instruct Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to implement the MSP law because Chauhan had said that the Supreme Court’s directive would be accepted. The Supreme Court should give these instructions to the central government, considering the situation of the farmers. What the Jabalpur High Court had said in 2018 that no farmer’s crop should be sold below the MSP fixed by the government has not been implemented yet. It should be implemented.
Farmer leader Dallewal’s health deteriorates
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on a fast to death at the Dhabi Gujjar border, suddenly deteriorated again on Monday night. During this time, he started vomiting and his blood pressure also dropped, due to which he became unconscious. After some time, his health improved somewhat. However, doctors said that Dallewal’s health has deteriorated greatly. Along with the effect on the kidneys and liver, his other organs are also stopping working. A senior doctor said that something bad can happen at any time. Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said, ‘God willing, if something happens to Dallewal ji, then perhaps the central government will not be able to control the situation.’ Therefore, the central government should not allow such a situation to arise because if something happens to Dallewal, it will be a ‘stain’ on the forehead of the central government that will never be erased.
Jathedar Akal Takht’s appeal to the central government
Gyani Raghbir Singh Jathedar Akal Takht Sahib said that the central government should immediately accept the demands of the farmers who have been struggling for a long time and said that the job of governments is to protect their dignity. He said that although there is no concept of hunger strike in Sikhism, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border regarding the demands of the farmers and the central government should immediately accept the demands of the farmers.
Why is the central government not sincere towards the farmers?
The issue is that if the entire blame for this deadlock between the farmers and the central government is being shifted to the Punjab government, did it really do anything wrong or is it being made a scapegoat? The fact is that on November 26, a night before Dallewal started his fast unto death, the Punjab police had ‘snatched’ him from the morcha and forcibly admitted him to a hospital in Ludhiana. At that time, a DIG of Punjab police had explained that the government was ‘very concerned about Dallewal’, which is why it had to take this step. After this, another farmer leader sat on a fast unto death and at the same time, due to criticism from all sides, the government had to ‘release’ Dallewal after four days. After weeks of silence, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann yesterday blamed the central government for this issue and clearly said that the
Talks should be started immediately with the agitating farmers.
The central government has never hidden the fact that it does not want to talk to the agitating farmers. Yesterday, when a judge asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared on behalf of the center, during the hearing in the Supreme Court why he was not talking to the farmers regarding their demands, he could not come up with a solid answer. The farmers’ parties have been continuously emphasizing the point that the issue is not just about Dallewal’s fast to death but about the farmers’ demands on which the central government has to talk to the farmer leaders. During the current farmers’ agitation, a young farmer died in police firing and recently a farmer activist committed suicide at the morcha site. Tear gas shells and pellet guns were used on the farmers who were going in groups on foot from the Shambhu border. There is no excuse for ‘worrying about the Dallewal’, but who will worry about the two farmers who are dying every day in Punjab due to the agricultural crisis?
