Last Friday, several leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – an umbrella organisation of many farm unions from Punjab and other states – reached Khanauri to check on Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the SKM (non-political) coordinator, who has been on fast-unto-death since November 26.
The SKM leaders who met Dallewal included Rakesh Tikait, BKU (Tikait) leader, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of BKU (Lakhowal), and Manjit Singh Dhaner, president of BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner). They said they visited Khanauri on behalf of their respective unions and not as the SKM representatives.
So far, the SKM has stayed away from the farmers’ sit-in protests being led by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and the SKM (non-political), which have been continuing at Shambhu and Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana borders since February 13 this year. The SKM has maintained that while it supports their demands – which include legal status for minimum support price (MSP) of crops and farm debt waiver, among others – they have reservations about their “mode of protest”.
However, various farm bodies seem to have mounted fresh attempts to forge a united front for their “common demands” to put more pressure on the Centre.
On December 12, KMM coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher sent a letter to the SKM to urge it to “start fresh talks” about their unity. “Though even before starting our Delhi Chalo march on February 13, efforts were made for this unity, we couldn’t come on the same page at that time,” Pandher said.
The SKM’s national coordination committee member and Krantikari Kisan Union president, Dr Darshan Pal told The Indian Express, “We had met few KMM leaders on November 17 at Patiala where it was decided that both the protesting unions will write to SKM and we can start discussions over the issue of unity. So if they have formally written to us, it is a good gesture and SKM will discuss it soon. Though in February too, SKM’s six-member unity committee had made multiple attempts to have a united morcha (front).”
Pal said,”We will also be urgently seeking time from the Punjab Governor to take up the issues of the agitating farm unions, given Dallewal ji’s health condition.”
Last week, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of BKU (Ugrahan) – the largest farm union in Punjab and a key SKM constituent – said, “Delhi Chalo is not the answer to every struggle… We don’t question their struggle but seeking MSP as a legal guarantee is a much bigger fight than our protest against the now-repealed 3 farm laws… Hence a united front which includes all farm unions of the country could collectively put up a fight over it.”
BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan told The Indian Express: “We strongly condemn the use of force by Haryana administration against the protesting farmers at Shambhu border. Dallewal’s life has also been put at risk as the central government has not been considering the farmers’ demands.The government must initiate talks with them.”
Kokrikalan also said, “We haven’t yet thought about being part of the protest dharna at Khanauri and Shambhu borders, although we have common demands. It is not just about few farm unions of Punjab since the demands such as those for MSP law, debt waiver and Swaminathan Commission report’s implementation need to be taken up by all the farm unions collectively.”
Buta Singh Burjgill, president of BKU (Dakaunda), another constituent of the SKM, said, “We have not yet decided to be part of the protest at the borders, and they have also never asked us for it directly.”
The SKM’s national coordination committee held a meeting on Friday evening to discuss Dallewal’s hunger strike, but they could not come up with a consensus about joining the ongoing stir, sources said.
The SKM had spearheaded the farmers’ agitation against the three central agricultural laws for more than a year during 2020-21 on Delhi’s borders that forced the Centre to repeal them.
During his recent visit to Khanauri to meet Dallewal, Punjabi singer-actor Babbu Mann said in his speech that it is high time that other farmer leaders “leave their egos and join the movement afresh”.
Dallewal himself has repeatedly made an appeal that more people should join the movement to strengthen it.
Kokrikalan said,”We have bigger challenges before us other than MSP. Take for instance the Union government’s agriculture marketing policy presented in the recent Budget through which they want to implement the three farm laws through the back door. So we need to be aware of the new challenges as well.”
Sources said Dallewal has also been in favour of waging a united struggle with the SKM over their common demands, but he has reservations over some farm leaders who were re-inducted into its fold after contesting the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls. “Our talks in the coming days can discuss all these points but the urgent issue now is to take care of Dallewal ji health and put pressure on the state and Union governments to wake up,” Pal said.
A 70-year-old cancer patient, Dallewal’s fast entered the 21st day on Monday.
Pandher was part of the 2020-21 farmers’ movement, but not as a constituent of the SKM. His KMM then used to hold its separate dharna at Kundli border. Later, he joined hands with Dallewal to launch a joint protest for the pending demands that the government had reportedly promised in December 2021.
On Sunday, Gurnam Singh Charuni, president of BKU (Charuni) from Haryana, met Dallewal at Khanauri to discuss unity of the farm bodies.
Charuni himself was expelled from the SKM in 2022 for floating a political outfit Sanyukt Sangharsh Party to contest polls. In the 2024 Haryana polls, Charuni also contested from Pehowa, although he lost his security deposit. In March, 2024 he returned to the SKM fold. His meeting with Dallewal was said to be “significant” in farm circles.
The KMM and the SKM (non-political) suspended their foot march to Delhi Saturday – their third attempt in 10 days – after at least 17 of them suffered injuries when Haryana police again fired tear gas shells and used water cannons to thwart it at Shambhu.
On Monday, SKM leader Rakesh Tikait also called for unity of farmers’ bodies for a joint fight, saying “batoge toh lutoge”, even as he expressed concern over Dallewal’s health.
Speaking to reporters in Karnal, Tikait said farm groups will have to “stick together” for a joint agitation for their demands, saying “Batoge toh lutoge, sabko ikkhate rehna padega (We must be united. Divided, we will be ruined).”
– With PTI inputs
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