Selja expresses concern over deteriorating health of farmer leader Dallewal

Chandigarh: Congress leader Kumari Selja on Monday voiced concern over the deteriorating health of fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate action to address the farmers' demands.

The Sirsa MP also said that the government has turned the Punjab and Haryana borders into something "akin to the India-Pakistan border" and instead of addressing the farmers' issues, they are being met with water cannons and tear gas shells.

"Dallewal himself has written an open letter to the prime minister raising 13 demands, including the legal guarantee to MSP, but the government seems unwilling to listen to the farmers," she said in a statement.

The 70-year-old Dallewal, a cancer patient, has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana since November 26 to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops.

"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 farmers' protests but has since forgotten its promises.

"If the government has even a little respect for the Constitution, it should acknowledge that it made a commitment to implement the MSP," she said.

Selja urged the government to give up its "stubborn stance and engage in dialogue with the farmers to resolve their problems".

Selja, a former Union Minister, said the Congress has been fighting for farmers' rights from the streets to the Parliament.

"The BJP government does not understand the hardships of farmers and labourers. Farmers must receive the minimum support price for their crops," she said.

"When farmers try to voice their grievances by heading to Delhi, the Haryana government responds with brutal actions. 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," she alleged.

"The BJP government cannot silence the farmers' voices through force, and the Congress will protect their democratic rights," she said.

She asked why the BJP government is hesitant to provide a guarantee of minimum support price to farmers.

"If farmers stop producing grain, even the governance in Delhi would come to a halt," she said.

"The Modi government's treatment of farmers reflects the kind of exploitation that farmers suffered during the British era," she claimed.

She said the Congress has supported the farmers from day one and stressed that "the government fulfil its promise by enacting the MSP law".

Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo march' and have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

A group of 101 farmers made three attempts to enter Delhi on foot on December 6, December 8 and again on December 14. Security personnel in Haryana did not allow them to proceed.