Chandigarh, 08 Jan 2025 | PTI: Protesting farmer leaders stationed at the Punjab-Haryana border on Wednesday slammed Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, saying he has time to meet farmers of poll-bound Delhi but has failed to see the “struggle” of those who have been “sitting on roads” for the past 11 months.

Addressing the media at the Khanauri protest site, farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Agriculture Minister Chouhan on Tuesday met a group of Delhi-based farmers to listen to their grievances.

Expressing surprise over the meeting, Kohar said, “There are only 21,000 farmers in Delhi. The minister has time to meet farmers of Delhi. But he has no time to see lakhs of farmers who have been sitting on roads in extreme weather conditions and Dallewal who is sitting on a fast-unto-death.”

“We do not have new demands. We only want the implementation of promises made by the successive governments with farmers,” he said.

A few days ago, when Chouhan was asked about holding talks with the protesting farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border to end the logjam, he said the government would act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s instructions.

Chouhan on Tuesday met a group of farmers in Delhi and said that several central government schemes meant for farmers’ welfare have faced hurdles in their implementation in the national capital.

Chouhan had urged Delhi Chief Minister Atishi to implement the central government schemes, saying he was willing to weather personal attacks if it benefited Delhi’s farming community.

Meanwhile, doctors attending to Dallewal said his condition is “deteriorating” because of prolonged fasting.

Doctor Kuldeep Kaur Randhawa said Dallewal’s blood pressure is fluctuating and remains low most of the time. “When we lift his legs then his BP stabilises a little bit,” she said.

Kohar said Samajwadi Party MP from Muzaffarnagar Harendra Malik visited the Khanauri protest site to inquire about Dallewal’s health and convey party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s message to Dallewal.

Kohar said Yadav spoke to farmer leader Kaka Singh Kotra over the phone.

Farmers, under the banner of SKM and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
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