Selja concerned about Dallewal's deteriorating health

Sirsa MP and former Union Minister Kumari Selja on Monday expressed concern over the deteriorating health of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

She said that the government must take appropriate steps in this regard and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action to address the farmers' demands.

“Dallewal himself has written an open letter to the Prime Minister raising 13 demands, including the MSP guarantee law, but the government seems unwilling to listen to the farmers.”

She added that the government had turned the Punjab and Haryana borders into something akin to the India-Pakistan border. Instead of addressing the farmers' issues, they are being met with water cannons and tear gas shells.

In a statement released to the media, Selja urged the government to abandon its stubborn stance and engage in dialogue with the farmers to resolve their problems. “However, the government continues to treat the Punjab-Haryana border like an international conflict zone. Water cannons and tear gas are being used against the farmers. The same government had promised the implementation of MSP (minimum support price) to end the farmers' protests but has since forgotten its promises. If the government has little respect for the Constitution, it should acknowledge that it made a commitment to implement the MSP,” she said.

Selja said the Congress was fighting for farmers' rights from the streets to Parliament. She accused the BJP of prioritising the interests of capitalists over those of the farmers and claimed that the BJP government had never worked for the farmers' welfare.

“The BJP does not understand the hardships of the farmers and labourers. The farmers must receive the minimum support price for their crops. The Congress has supported the farmers from day one and insists that the government fulfil its promise by enacting the MSP law. When the farmers try to voice their grievances by heading to Delhi, the Haryana Government responds with brutal actions. The farmers are neither criminals nor have they damaged public property, yet the government has resorted to violent baton charges, water cannons and tear gas on them in the freezing cold.”

Selja said the actions of the Haryana Government were inhumane and an example of tyranny. She questioned whether the Prime Minister doesn't have even a moment to listen to the farmers' plight. She said that if the Congress came to power, it would give legal status to MSP.