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Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, Ravneet Singh Bittu, on Sunday expressed his heartfelt gratitude to veteran farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal for ending his fast at Bittu's request.
He hoped that this gesture would foster harmony and mutual trust between the farmers and the central government. Bittu said that the centre had always tried to maintain cordial relations with farmers all over the country. What happened at the Khanauri and Shambu borders was unfortunate, and the AAP government is solely responsible for removing the farmers' dharna by force. He said that the state government had let down the farmers, and the BJP-led government would never approve the use of coercive methods to deal with the agitating farmers. He added that the Centre had invited farmers to a meeting on May 4, and talks would continue until a final solution was reached. He said that the May 4 meeting would be a continuation of previous meetings, and he was very optimistic that the major issue of giving MSP on crops would be resolved in a few more meetings. He said that the centre had the responsibility to look after the interests of farmers all over the country. The MSP committee was touring the country and connecting with farmers for their local needs. The central government was serious about all the farmers' demands and was trying to create a countrywide consensus, he said. Bittu said that all three Union ministers, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Chauhan, and Prahlad Joshi, had collectively appealed to the farmers to join dialogue with the centre and reach a conclusive end. He said that the three ministers who were engaged in the dialogue were most worried about Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health. The Union minister assured the farmers that no arrests would be made, as the Punjab government had done. The centre wanted to build mutual confidence with the farmers. (ANI)
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