End protest and join talks, Chouhan urges Dallewal

Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his protest and join the discussions with the central government on May 4.

Dallewal was discharged from a private hospital in Patiala on Thursday, where he had been receiving medical attention.

In a post on X, Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote, “The dialogue between representatives of the Government of India and farmers’ organisations is ongoing regarding their demands. Farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal has now returned from the hospital, and we wish him a speedy recovery. We urge him to end his strike, and we will meet with the representatives of the farmers’ organisations on May 4 at 11 am as previously scheduled.”

Dallewal, who is leading the protest for the legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and other demands of farmers, has refused to end his hunger strike. Despite being invited for talks by the government in January, Dallewal began receiving medical aid at the Khanouri protest site but has not yet called off his strike. After being discharged from the hospital, he returned to his ancestral village in Faridkot district.

Addressing the media after his release from the hospital, Dallewal said his indefinite hunger strike would continue till farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP, are met.

The Punjab Police have lifted the year-long protest of farmers from Khnauri and Shambu on March 19 to clear the roads for tariff.