Farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike since November 26, agreed to take medical aid on Saturday after the Union government stated it would hold talks with the protesting farmers on February 14, reported PTI.

On Saturday night, the 70-year-old Dallewal was given an intravenous drip. He stated, however, that he would not end his hunger strike till a legal guarantee on the minimum support price was given.

Dallewal, chief of the farm group Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), has been on an indefinite fast at Khanauri, located on the Punjab-Haryana border.

The strike is part of a wider campaign to press the Union government to accept farmers’ demand for legally guaranteed minimum support prices. The minimum support price is the rate at which the government procures crops from farmers.

Besides a legal guarantee for minimum support prices, the farmers have also been demanding the implementation of the MS Swaminathan Commission’s wider recommendations for farming in India, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, a farm debt waiver, the reinstatement of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The farmers have alleged that the Union government has not taken steps to address their demands, claiming that no talks have been held since February.

Since then, they have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border, under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

The breakthrough on Saturday came after a delegation from the Union Agriculture Ministry, led by Joint Secretary Priya Ranjan, met Dallewal and held a meeting with the representatives of the farmers’ groups.

After the meeting, Ranjan read out a proposal inviting farmers for a meeting at 5 pm on February 14 at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26, Chandigarh, reported The Indian Express.

The invite was addressed to Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, the coordinator of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

Quoting unidentified officials, the newspaper reported that February 14 was chosen as the date for the meeting as the Model Code of Conduct would be in place in Delhi till February 9. The Union Budget is scheduled for February 12 and February 13, said the official.

Apart from Dallewal, 101 farmers from Punjab and 10 from Haryana are also on an indefinite hunger strike. The 70-year-old’s health was steadily deteriorating as he had refused to take medical aid earlier.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the Punjab government for Dallewal’s comparative medical reports.

This came after the state government told the court that Dallewal’s health was improving.

“Where are the latest parameters?” asked Justice Surya Kant. “Last time some officers filed an affidavit [stating that his condition is deteriorating], now you are saying that his parameters are improving? How can it happen?”

The state government then clarified that Dallewal’s condition was “stable”.