CPI(M) demands govt immediately start talks with farmer groups todayheadline

Pointing to the deteriorating health of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike, the CPI(M) on Saturday said the government should immediately start talks with farmer organisations. Dallewal has been sitting on a hunger strike at the Khanauri border point since November 26 to press the Centre to accept farmers’ demands, including legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) and farm loan waiver.

On Saturday, the Supreme Court gave the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to hospital.
The CPI(M) said in a statement, “The health condition of senior farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike since November 26, is extremely critical. The protest is for the legitimate demand of the kisan (farmers’) movement for a legal backing to the MSP and waiver of loans.”

“All the demands are related to the central government, which, by refusing to intervene, is solely responsible for this situation. There is widespread concern and unrest among kisans across the country,” it added.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau demanded that the government start talks with the farmers. “The Polit Bureau demands that the central government should immediately start talks with representatives of all kisan organisations and their joint platforms to resolve their long-pending demands,” it said.