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Journalism of Courage
On the 25th day of his hunger strike, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal remained in seclusion, refusing to meet anyone. He stayed inside a trolley converted into a room, accompanied only by two caretakers. “No visitors were allowed to see him, not even union members, on Friday. On Thursday, he fainted and vomited, so we decided not to disturb him. Only medical teams visited to examine him two or three times a day,” said Lakhwinder Singh, president of Bharti Kisan Ekta (BKE), while speaking to The Indian Express.
Dr Swaimaan Singh, a US-based cardiologist and president of the NGO 5 Rivers Heart Association, which is overseeing Dallewal’s care, said, “We weighed him on Tuesday, and he had lost 15.1 kg by then. There is a severe electrolyte imbalance in his body after 25 days of consuming only water. If he suffers a heart failure, it will be very difficult to revive him.” While doctors from the NGO are attending to him, Swaimaan said he is closely monitoring Dallewal’s reports remotely.
Lakhwinder Singh added, “Dallewal has made it clear that he wants to breathe his last at the protest site and does not wish to be taken to a hospital. With a heavy heart, I must say that if something happens to Dallewal ji, Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande will take his place and begin a hunger strike unto death, followed by Inderjit Singh Kotbuddha, and so on. We have a long list of individuals ready to continue this protest until our demands are met.”
Kaka Singh Kotda, general secretary of BKU Sidhupur, a constituent unit of the SKM (non-political), said, “Jagjit Singh Dallewal has declared that he is on the path of sacrifice. The final destination of this journey is either a legal guarantee of MSP or his death. He is committed to continuing until his last breath.”
In solidarity with Dallewal, one-day hunger strikes were held across the country on Friday, Lakhwinder said. At the Khanauri border, six farmers from Haryana — Bijender Mahra, Surender Singh, Baljeet Singh, Bijender Singh, Ravinder Singh, and Dalbir Singh — observed a 24-hour hunger strike from 12 noon Friday to 12 noon Saturday.
Despite his critical condition, Dallewal participated in Supreme Court proceedings via video conference on Thursday but was not given an opportunity to present his views, said Abhimanyu Kohar from SKM (non-political). On Friday, he expressed his concerns in writing and sent them to the Supreme Court via email and post, Kohar added.
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