Farmers march in thousands to gherao Karnal secretariat

Unions had warned Haryana farmers would besiege the mini-secretariat if action was not taken against cops who lathicharged protesters on August 28

Thousands of farmers started marching towards the district headquarters in Karnal, Haryana, on Tuesday evening after union leaders said their talks with the local administration had failed. Farmer unions had demanded action against police officers over the lathi charge against protesters on August 28 in Karnal. Over 10 farmers were injured and one of them died later at night from a heart attack. If the demand was not met, they had warned that farmers will lay siege on the Karnal mini-secretariat — a threat they appeared to be carrying out.

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Later in the evening, farmers squatted at the gates of the district headquarters in Karnal. The gherao began in the evening, several hours after farmers from Haryana and neighbouring states reached Karnal’s New Anaj Mandi for a mahapanchayat, riding tractors and motorcycles. “Our talks with administration failed as they did not agree to our demands,” senior farm leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said about three hours later.

Marching on foot from the mahapanchayat venue to the mini-secretariat five kilometres away, farmers faced a water cannon as they neared the complex. They jumped some barricades, but there was no other serious confrontation with police along the way. As the protesters appeared to settle in for the night, union leaders said the gherao will continue till their demands are met. Earlier, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitaik) leader Rakesh Tikait told reporters that they had demanded the suspension of the IAS officer who was caught on tape allegedly telling policemen to “break heads” of protesting farmers.

“To get justice for Sushil Kajla, who was martyred in the brutal lathi charge by the Karnal Police, I am reaching Karnal in some time along with the comrades of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, all of you keep an eye on Karnal,” Tikait tweeted later. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting for months over the farm laws, claiming that they will lead to the erosion of the MSP system.

Police use water cannons to disperse farmers in Karnal. Pic/PTI

Make report public: SC panel member to CJI

One of the members on the Supreme Court-constituted committee on the farm laws has written to Chief Justice N V Ramana seeking release of its report into public domain and sharing it with the Centre. Anil Ghanwat, chief of Shetkari Sanghatana, in a letter to the CJI said, “The report addressed all apprehensions of the farmers. The panel was confident that the recom-mendations will pave the way to resolve the ongoing farmers’ agitation” that started in November 2020. “I feel the report has not been given any attention by the Supreme Court,” Ghanwat said. The SC had suspended the implementation of the farm laws and constituted a panel on January 12 to report on them. The panel incorporated the opinions and su-ggestions of all stakeholders with the aim of maximum benefit to the farmers.

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