Jagjit Singh Dallewal, coordinator of the SKM (non-political), was discharged from Ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) late Friday evening. Dallewal, who had been admitted to the emergency ward, will return to the Khanauri border by Friday night to continue his hunger strike. A delegation of farmers, led by Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), reached DMCH around 7.45 pm. Dallewal was escorted from the hospital by 8 pm. Pandher said the discharge followed a two-hour meeting with police and administrative officials at Khanauri. “Authorities agreed to discharge him after discussions,” Pandher said. Dallewal, addressing farmers after leaving the hospital, requested them not to garland him and vowed to continue his hunger strike at the Khanauri border. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Patiala Range, Mandeep Singh Sidhu, confirmed the decision. “Doctors checked his vitals and declared him fit for discharge. Given his health concerns as a cancer patient, we had admitted him for a complete check-up. With the doctors’ approval, we agreed to let the farmers take him to Khanauri,” Sidhu said. Dallewal had been forcibly taken from the Khanauri border by Punjab Police in the early hours of November 26, just before his planned hunger strike. He began the protest at the hospital instead, while another farmer leader, Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande, commenced a parallel hunger strike at Khanauri. The hunger strike, now in its fourth day, aims to press the central government to accept the farmers’ charter of demands, including legal guarantees for Minimum Support Price (MSP). The unions have threatened to march to Delhi on foot on December 6 if the demands are not addressed. Farmers criticised the Punjab government for forcibly admitting Dallewal, announcing a protest rally on December 1 outside Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur. They accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of acting as the “B team” of the BJP. Sources suggest that concerns over the growing anger against the Punjab government influenced the decision to discharge Dallewal. Farmers under the banners of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and SKM (non-political) have been stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13, after Haryana erected multi-layer barricades preventing their march to Delhi. The demand for MSP as a legal right remains their primary issue.
