Cuttack: Lawyers in the state would boycott work for two days starting February 11 to protest the alleged callousness of the Centre and state government regarding their demands.
A decision to this effect was taken at a recent meeting of the State Bar Council here.
Bar council sources said lawyers would submit memoranda to the Prime Minister through their respective district Collectors February 11. The practicing advocates from across the state would congregate in Bhubaneswar February 12 and submit a memorandum addressed to the PM to the Governor.
“The Bar Council of India has been approaching the PM for its demands several times since 2014 and again reminded the PM of its demands January 22, this year. However, the Centre is yet to fulfill the demands,” said State Bar Council chairman Tahali Charan Mohanty.
According to Mohanty, the Bar Council of India had urged the Centre to take steps to construct a building and a library for each bar association of the country. It had also requested the Centre to allocate at least Rs 5,000 crore for the welfare of lawyers. Moreover, the Bar Council of India had pleaded for a monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 for each new entrant lawyer for five years.
Mohanty claimed that Telangana government has allocated Rs 100 crore in its budget for the welfare of lawyers. However, the Odisha government had allocated only Rs 5 crore for the purpose. “The Haryana government has been providing plots to lawyers to construct houses. The Odisha government should emulate the scheme. The government should take steps to appoint lawyers in legal services authorities,” Mohanty said.
