It is another matter that this son of a farmer has no moral conviction and strength to look Prime Minister Narendra Modi straight in the face and tell him to accept the farmers' demands. Dhankar's December 13 statement was primarily aimed at agitating farmers and making them trust the intentions of Modi. But a single line appeal from Dallewal to the youth has exposed the ambivalence of Modi.

It is disgusting that Modi and his ministers have been spreading confusion about the farmers’ movement. Modi's ministers have been saying it was a Punjab-centric agitation and only Sikh farmers were spearheading it. This narrative raised the question: Does Modi feel that Sikhs are against him? If he nurses this impression then he also must be aware of the reason. Why doesn't the Prime Minister place the facts in the public domain? Instead, he is presenting a skewed picture, concealing the fact.

It is not that the farmers from the distant states are not participating, of course their partition is less. Since Punjab and Haryana are next door to Delhi, it is easier for farmers of these two states to rush to Delhi in extra-quick time compared to farmers from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Some Modi supporters have come out with an astonishing explanation to justify the government's refusal to not concede to the farmers' demands. They argue that the farmers were not allowing Adani and other nationalist corporate houses to help the farmers and that two years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had banned the import of lentils.

But since Punjabi Sikhs living abroad with business interests there, like Congress leader Amarinder Singh and Kamal Nath, had opposed this move of Modi. The most idiotic argument has been that “Khalistanis started losing their jobs that is why Justin Trudeau supported the farmers' movement”.

They also argue that “Adani and Ambani groups have earned profits in whatever businesses they have started by ending foreign monopoly and providing tremendous benefits to the Indian customers.”

There is little doubt that these BJP supporters have been creating confusion about the demands of the farmers. Activists of Dallewal’s Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after security forces stopped them from marching to Delhi.

Their demand is that the government should legally guarantee minimum support prices (MSPs). “This is a battle for the rights and betterment of farmers but this government wants to crush this movement. Farmers too are part of India and we want to sacrifice our lives if our democratic rights are not fulfilled,” says Dallewal.

These are old demands of the farmers for which they had launched a year-long agitation in 2020-21. They were protesting against the three farm laws passed by Parliament in September 2020. The acts had been described as "anti-farmer laws" by farmer unions. The protestors had demanded the creation of a minimum support price (MSP) bill, to ensure that corporate bodies did not get to control prices.

The farmers withdrew their agitation only after Prime Minister Modi tendered a public apology on the three farm laws, which the government had “failed to convince” farmers to accept. “I apologise to the people of the country with a true and pure heart...We were not able to convince farmers. There must have been some deficiency in our efforts that we could not convince some farmers.”

Modi's insensitivity towards the agitation can be gauged from the fact that even after continuous deterioration of Dallewal's health, with all the anatomical and physiological parameters showing decline, the Prime Minister is unmoved and not willing to talk to him.

Doctors attending on Dallewal say that the ketone level in his body is 25 times higher than normal, he lost nearly 15 kg in weight, and the possibility of sudden cardiac arrest or multiple organ failure cannot be ruled out. The PSA test for his previously diagnosed prostate cancer has again been reported abnormal.

Prime Minister Modi’s uncaring attitude towards Dallewal’s hunger strike underlines the fact that Modi is not concerned whether Dallewal lives or dies. Dallewal's demands are simple: Debt waivers, pensions, a freeze on power tariff hikes and the withdrawal of police cases lodged against agitating farmers, apart from MSP guarantees.

Of course, it also includes “justice” for the Lakhimpur Kheri victims – farmers crushed under the wheels of a car belonging to the then BJP Union minister Ajay “Teni” Mishra in 2021. The matter is the Supreme Court, but its order also does not reflect its concern for Dallewal.

The apex court has instead of directing the Modi Government to open a dialogue with Dallewal, questioned why Punjab government allowed "a virtual fort to be created" around the protest site, adding the state government seems to be supporting the agitation that may result in Dallewal's death. The court made this observation even after being told by Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh that farmers could agree to Dallewal's hospitalisation if some "conciliation" was offered to them.

Instead of pulling up the Punjab government the court should have asked Modi to find a solution. Farmers have cordoned off the area and are guarding Dallewal for fear the Punjab government would take him away by using force. The court ordered top officers to communicate to the people at the protest site that those preventing Dallewal's hospitalisation want to deprive the farmer community of one of its tallest leaders. This is absurd. If at all the court is really concerned, it should direct the Modi government to take appropriate measures.

Farmers are simply demanding implementation of legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) on all crops and calculation of MSP based on the MS Swaminathan formula. MSP is the price at which the government buys from farmers. It serves as a protection against falling market prices.

In November 2021, when the protesting farmers finally withdrew their year-long demonstration, the issue of legal guarantee to MSP was also part of the negotiations. The government was supposed to act on it in the following months but farmers’ organisations allege that Prime Minister Modi went back on his promise. It is unacceptable that the Modi Government, which posthumously honoured MS Swaminathan with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, did not implement his recommendation on MSP.

“The government is lying through its teeth when it says they are adhering to Swaminathan’s recommendations. They are not calculating the comprehensive cost as suggested by Swaminathan,” says Hannan Mollah, Vice President of the CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), India’s largest farmers’ organisation and a constituent of the protesting farmers’ umbrella forum.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is now asking “why Modi is running away from giving a legal guarantee on MSP despite repeated promises?” It is worth recalling that even while campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had promised that all crops would be purchased at MSP, which would cover all costs and 50 per cent margin as per the Swaminathan Committee formula. But to date, there is neither a legal guarantee of MSP nor has the Swaminathan formula of C2+50% been implemented. (IPA Service)