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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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
