The second round of talks between district officials and farmers protesting over a police lathi-charge last month failed Wednesday and the protesters said they will continue their sit-in “indefinitely” at the district headquarters in Karnal today.
The leaders said they will stay put at the gate of the complex but will not stop officials and the public from entering it. Their demands centre around the suspension of IAS officer Ayush Sinha, who was caught on tape allegedly telling policemen to “break heads” of farmers, if they cross the line during their August 28 protest. The sit-in outside the Karnal mini-secretariat, following a mahapanchayat in the same city, began Tuesday evening after talks between district officials and the farm leaders “failed”. The farmers started marching towards the office complex. Along with some Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders, many spent the night outside its main entrance. In the morning, volunteers at the protest site were seen preparing tea and serving breakfast, including ‘langar’ from the nearby gurdwaras.
The district administration invited a delegation of SKM leaders — including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav and Gurnam Singh Chaduni — for a meeting at 2 pm in another bid to end the standoff. But the standoff continued. “We have to say this with regret that the talks failed completely because the government is adopting an adamant and insensitive attitude,” said Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav after the three-hour meeting. He and Tikait claimed that the local administration was “taking directions from Chandigarh”, a reference to the BJP-led Haryana government. Meanwhile, the movement of traffic on the Delhi-Karnal-Ambala National Highway-44 remained normal. The Haryana Home Department had extended the suspension of mobile internet services in Karnal until Wednesday midnight as the situation was “still volatile”. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) banning gathering of people had been imposed in the district on Monday.
