Karnal standoff: Another round of talks between farmers and Haryana govt to be held today

Chandigarh: Another round of talks between the protesting farmers who have been demanding action against the August 28 lathi charge and Haryana government officials will be held on Saturday, with both sides hoping for an early resolution of issues. 

The farmers are demanding action against officials over the lathi charge against protesters on August 28 in Karnal. They have asked for 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.

They had also claimed that a farmer died after the August 28 violence, an allegation rejected by the administration.

The Haryana government had invited a delegation of 11 farm leaders earlier this week for talks on the issue. But the meeting failed to reach a solution. The farmers had then decided to gherao the mini secretariat in Karnal after a 'Kisan Mahpanchayat' was held on Tuesday.

As the farmers' sit-in outside the Karnal district headquarters entered its fourth day on Friday, both sides said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.

"We discussed for four hours. Some positives have come out and another meeting will be held on Saturday," Karnal Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav told PTI over the phone.

Asked if the administration has agreed to any of the demands of the farmers, he said, "lt will not be right to comment anything more at this stage. Let another scheduled meeting take place first." However, the DC said the talks remained positive.

Additional Chief Secretary Devender Singh, Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni and farmer leader Suresh Koth were among those present in the meeting. Koth told reporters that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.

"The meeting was positive. But there are some things which we will take up in Saturday's meeting. We are hopeful that the issues will be resolved soon," said Koth.

Some senior leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha are expected to take part in Saturday's meeting. Meanwhile, the Haryana government resumed mobile Internet services in the district.

On Thursday, Home Minister Anil Vij had said the government is ready for a probe into the last month's clash between farmers and police but warned that farm leaders too could face action if they're found to be at fault.

Earlier, talks between district officials and farmers had failed, after which the protesters had said they will continue their sit-in "indefinitely" at the district headquarters.