The lawyers here who are on a dharna for last three weeks demanding a High Court Bench, irrespective of their party affiliation, were in PM Narendra Modi’s meetings in Jharsuguda with placards in hands to stake their demand.
Earlier they sought permission from the office of the Prime Minister (PMO) to meet him for a few minutes at Jharsuguda to apprise him of the genuine demand of the people for the bench. When they didn’t get it, they stood silently with placards at the meeting venue to draw the attention of the PM.
“After clearance from the State Government and a letter from the Chief Minister, the ball is now in the court of the Government of India and we wanted to draw the PM’s attention at least by this means,” said Sambalpur District Bar Association president Bijitendriya Pradhan.
However, the BJD legal front has strongly criticised the attitude of the Central Government and the PM in particular on this issue. A Press release issued by Basanta Mishra of the legal front states: “We expected some declaration by the PM in western Odisha itself since we have communicated the matter to his office and the Union Law Ministry frequently. Moreover, the PM must have intelligence inputs. But much to the dissatisfaction of the people here, nothing of that sort happened.”