The North News
New Delhi, March 28
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has ended his hunger strike, the Punjab government informed the Supreme Court on Friday. He ended an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, accepted water, and broke his fast. Dallewal, who had been on a fast since 26 November 2024, was demanding a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSP) on crops. His protest was part of a wider movement pushing for agricultural reforms.
Punjab Police had detained Dallewal and fellow farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on May 19, shortly after a failed meeting between central government officials and protesting farmers in Chandigarh. The seventh round of talks lasted nearly four hours but yielded no breakthrough. As the leaders returned to the protest sites at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, police took them into custody, triggering clashes between officers and demonstrators. Authorities have also suspended internet services at Khanauri.
The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Piyush Goyal, and Pralhad Joshi, alongside Punjab Ministers Lal Chand Kataruchak and Gurmeet Singh Khudian. Farmers are demanding legal MSP guarantees, loan waivers, pensions for agricultural workers, a freeze on electricity tariff hikes, and the withdrawal of cases against demonstrators.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had described the talks as “constructive,” with another round scheduled for 4 May.
