KURNOOL: Kurnool District Bar Association members staged a relay hunger strike at Sri Krishnadevaraya Circle here on Thursday demanding establishment of the High Court in Kurnool, in accordance with the Sribagh Pact. Over 3,000 advocates across the district boycotted courts on Thursday. They threatened to strike work in courts from September 20 if the government failed to concede their demand.
Bar Association president S Umar Javid Ali said High Court should be established in Kurnool to honour the Elders’ Agreement. Centralisation of power and development in the erstwhile capital in Hyderabad led to a separatist movement resulting in bifurcation of the State, he added.
It would be a historical mistake to establish the capital and the high court in Coastal Andhra and render injustice to Rayalaseema, he said. The capital and high court were at different places in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, he observed. He stated that they are planning to meet Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on September 20 to submit a representation on building the High Court in Kurnool.
Rajya Sabha MP TG Venkatesh visited the protest camp and extended his solidarity. Addressing the gathering, the MP said that setting up the high court in Rayalaseema would lead to decentralisation of power.