Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urges farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end hunger strike ahead of May 4 talks
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday appealed to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his hunger strike, saying that Union ministers will meet the representatives of farmers’ organisations for talks on May 4 as per the decided date.
In a post on X, Chouhan said, “The ongoing dialogue between the representatives of the Government of India and the representatives of farmers’ organisations regarding their demands is continuing. Farmer leader Shri Jagjit Singh Dallewal has now returned from hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery. We also request him to end his hunger strike and we will meet with the representatives of the farmers’ organisations for talks at 11 am on May 4 as per the already decided date.”
Chouhan’s appeal comes days after Dallewal, the convener of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), said he hasn’t ended his hunger strike yet.
“On April 2, I entered day 136 of my hunger strike which started on November 26, 2024. I started taking medical assistance from January 18 when the Union government invited us to resume talks. However, I had been taking only water and nothing else. On March 19, when Punjab police arrested farmers, I stopped consuming water in protest. But I consumed water on March 28, the day all farmers were released from jail. Hence, I am still on hunger strike,” Dallewal told The Indian news in an interview earlier this week.
Dallewal has been on hunger strike to press farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Last Friday, the Supreme Court praised Dallewal as a “genuine leader without a political agenda” after he consumed water following the release of the farmer leaders detained by the Punjab police as part of its March 19 crackdown.
Punjab police had arrested Dallewal and other farmers on March 19, when they were returning from a meeting with Union ministers in Chandigarh.
Chouhan and Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi have held several rounds of talks with the representatives of the protesting farmers in Chandigarh.
