FARMERS in large numbers gathered here for a Mahapanchayat as the local authorities braced themselves for a possible gherao of the district headquarters by protesters after talks between farm leaders and officials appeared to yield no result. Farmer unions had demanded action against officials over the lathi-charge against protesters on August 28 in Karnal. Otherwise, they had threatened, farmers will lay siege on the Karnal mini-Secretariat. As farmers gathered for the ‘Mahapanchayat’, an 11-member delegation was invited by the local administration to discuss their demands and dissuade them from marching towards the Secretariat.

 

“The administration did not agree to our demands,” Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni told reporters three hours after the talks began. He said the talks had failed to yield results. Rakesh Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Darshan Pal and Yogendra Yadav were among the senior Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders who had reached Karnal for the rally being held days after a huge ‘Mahapanchayat’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar.