Dallewal has not ended indefinite fast, says farmer leader
Chandigarh, Mar 29 (PTI): Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has not ended his indefinite fast even though he drank a glass of water after farmers detained last week by the state police were released from different jails, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said on Saturday.
The Punjab government on Friday told the Supreme Court that Dallewal accepted water and broke his fast.
Countering the Punjab government's claims, Kohar said on Saturday Dallewal had made it clear he would take water only after all the farmers are released.
"And Dallewal drank a glass of water after farmer leaders were released," said Kohar, a close aide of Dallewal. "We want to make it clear that a false impression was being given that Dallewal has ended his indefinite fast. His hunger strike continues."
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the apex court on Friday they dispersed on March 19 the farmers protesting at Khanauri and Shambhu border points with Haryana, and opened the roads and highways that were blocked due to the sit-ins. Protesting farmers and some of their leaders were also detained by the Punjab Police on that day.
Another farmer leader, Kaka Singh Kotra, also said on Saturday when Dallewal came to know about the detention of farmers, he refused to take water till they were all released.
He took water after the farmers were released, said Kotra.
Dallewal (70) is a senior leader of the joint forum of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. He began his indefinite hunger strike on November 26 last year to press the Centre to accept their demands including a legal guarantee to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
After the Centre invited the farmer leaders for talks in January, Dallewal had started taking medical aid at the Khanauri protest site but did not end his fast.
Several farmer leaders including Sarwan Singh Pandher, Abhimanyu Kohar, Kaka Singh Kotra and other leaders, detained during he March 19 police action, were released on Friday.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Pandher was released from Muktsar jail while Kohar, Kotra and some other farmer leaders were released from Patiala central jail.
After their release, they met Dallewal in the hospital on Friday.
The farmer leaders were detained on March 19 when they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh.
The meeting was organised to discuss the farmers' demands, especially the MSP guarantee. As the departing farmers entered Mohali after the meeting, they were met with heavy barricading and some of their leaders were detained.
Police had evicted farmers and had dismantled temporary structures from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points. Vehicular traffic had resumed on the Shambhu-Ambala and Sangrur-Jind highways.
Several farmers, who were part of the Shambhu and Khanauri protests, have claimed that their belongings including trolleys were missing, adding that they might have been stolen.
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Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
