Farmers Movement Archive

Talks fail, farmers begin sit-in at Karnal mini secretariat

After a massive gathering in Karnal against the August 28 police action on protesters, farm organisations laid siege to the mini secretariat there on Tuesday and refused to budge until the Haryana government shed its "raj-hath" (stubbornness) and acceded to their demands. BKU (Charuni) leader Gurnam Singh Charuni announced the indefinite sit-in after talks between leaders of the farm agitation and the district administration failed to break the deadlock. A team of officials comprising Karnal Range IG Mamta Singh, Karnal SP Ganga Ram Punia and deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav met the farm leaders again to persuade them to end their protest, but they wouldn't back down. The farmers have been pressing for immediate action against former Karnal SDM Ayush Sinha, who was seen in a video purportedly asking police personnel to smash the heads of protesters assembled there on August 28. They have also asked for Rs 25 lakh in compensation and a government job to the next of kin of farmer Sushil Kajal, who was allegedly assaulted at the protest and died after returning home. Thousands of farmers from various parts of Haryana and Punjab had gathered at the new grain market in Karnal on Tuesday morning in response to the call by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) for a mahapanchayat. Most of the senior farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Charuni, Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, and political activist Yogendra Yadav, were present to lead the farmers. Around 11am, the Karnal district administration invited the farm leaders for negotiations. Three rounds of talks were held in the span of around two hours, starting at 1pm, but there was no breakthrough. Immediately after leaving the meeting, Tikait announced that the farmers would march from the new grain market to the mini secretariat. SKM said in a statement later that the Haryana government’s refusal to even consider the demand to suspend former Karnal SDM Sinha, a 2018 batch IAS officer, angered the farmers. "We had lowered our demand from sacking the former SDM to only his suspension, pending an inquiry, but the state government even rejected this. It was totally unjustified. This stance of the state government forced the farmers to opt for a sustained struggle," Yadav said. The farmers started their march to the mini secretariat at 3.30pm, breaching six barricades along the way. While police had intercepted some senior farm leaders once they approached Namaste Chowk, they were let off soon after. Police maintained restraint, only using water cannon on the defiant crowd. "Farmers stand determined and resolute; we stand firmly behind the protest and condemn the actions of the Haryana government," SKM said. Tikait tweeted late on Tuesday that the gathering of protesters would stay put outside the mini secretariat and had already requisitioned clothing and food for the long haul. "We will not stop till we get justice." The district administration had deployed around 40 companies of police personnel to control the situation. "With patience and timely discretion exercised by the district administration, the agitators were allowed to match peacefully towards the mini secretariat," DC Yadav said. Punjab farm unions, on the other hand, are waiting for withdrawal of cases registered after protesting farmers clashed with police in Moga near SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s rally. If the administration doesn't do so by Wednesday, the unions will roll out their next phase of agitation.

The Times of India

2021-09-08

Gurgaon