Farmers to make third attempt at marching towards Delhi on Dec 14
The next “Marjeevda Jatha” of 101 farmers would begin its foot march towards Delhi on December 14, said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher while addressing mediapersons at the Shambhu border on Tuesday.
People urged to skip dinner on Dec 12
- The SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha on Tuesday appealed to the people of the country to skip dinner on December 12 to express solidarity with both outfits and SKM (Non-Political) convener Jagjit Singh Dallewal
- Dallewal has been observing an indefinite fast at the Khanauri border since November 26
- Farm leader from Haryana Abhimanyu Kohar said people skipping dinner on December 12 should share photographs on social media to show solidarity with farmers’ cause
Dallewala residents observe fast
- Residents of Dallewala village in Faridkot district observed a fast in support of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal on Tuesday; almost all families in the village avoided cooking at their homes
- The peaceful protest by villagers culminated outside a local gurdwara, where residents prayed for the success of their leader’s endeavour and for his health and safety
- Apart from Dallewala villagers, office-bearers and workers of the BKU (Ekta-Sidhupur) and Dallewal’s kin were also present there
He said the decision to send the “jatha” (group) was taken following a meeting of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) at Shambhu.
“We have waited for nearly two days, but no formal invitation has been sent by the government for talks. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not speak a word on the issue during his visit to Haryana on Monday,” he added.
Prayers would be held on December 11 for the success of farmers’ protest. He also sought support from Punjabi singers, religious preachers for the Kisan Andolan 2.0.
In the morning, farmers carried out a cleanliness drive at the protest site that saw a high-voltage action on December 6 and 8 after paramilitary personnel and the Haryana Police thwarted their attempts to move towards Delhi.
Over 30 farmers were injured in the two attempts as the security personnel lobbed tear gas shells on protesters. Farmer leader Tajveer Singh said a scaffolding was being installed over the barricades at the Shambhu border from where tear gas shells were lobbed by personnel.
Meanwhile, Dr Swaiman Singh, a prominent face of the 2020 farmers’ protests, has come out in support of farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is observing an indefinite fast the past 15 days. Swaiman, who is a practising cardiologist in the USA, has sought support from the strong NRI community for the ongoing farmers’ protest.
Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, who was visiting Patiala, also came out in support of the protesting farmers and slammed the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the issues of farmers.
He said the government should engage in talks with farmers, considering the deteriorating condition of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
He said Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had voiced concern and asked the government to resolve the issue with farmers, but the government appeared to be busy protecting a billionaire businessman.
The protesters have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by the security forces.
Farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee on MSP, debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases (against farmers) and “justice” for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
