Farmers lay siege to Karnal mini-Secretariat

Farmers lay siege to Karnal mini-Secretariat

Farmers lay siege to Karnal mini-Secretariat

Karnal : Talks between the farmer leaders and the district administration are expected to resume on Wednesday to break the deadlock as farmers contnued to lay siege to the mini secretariat here since Tuesday evening.

Farmers and their leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, kept the siege on overnight.

Locked in a showdown with the Haryana government over a police lathicharge last month, thousands of farmers on Tuesday had laid siege to the district headquarters after talks with the administration remained inconclusive.

Hookah time for farmers in Karnal.

They were demanding suspension of the then Karnal SDM Ayush Sinha for his briefing to police personnel on August 28 where he told them to “crack their (farmers’) heads”. The same day, protesting farmers were lathicharged at Bastara toll plaza as they were opposing a state-level meeting of the BJP.

As farmers from across the districts and other states started arriving in the city on Tuesday, the administration invited their leaders for talks. The two-hour meeting with an 11-member delegation of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) remained inconclusive as the latter remained adamant on their demand for Sinha’s suspension.

Eatables being served to the protesting farmers.

The farmers then gathered at the local grain market. From there, they marched towards the mini secretariat, 5 km away. They broke two barricades near the complex following which the police used water cannons to disperse them. There was, however, no other serious confrontation.

Farmer leaders at the protest site. 

Leaders, including Tikait, Gurnam Singh Charuni and Yogendra Yadav, were detained briefly near Namaste Chowk on the NH-44. The SKM began a dharna at the mini secretariat on Tuesday evening amid heavy police presence. Tikait said, “We have been on a dharna at Delhi’s border for over nine months seeking repeal of the central farm laws. We will do the same here till our demands are met.”