BHUBANESWAR: Politics has taken over the issue of establishment of high court bench in western Odisha, with the BJP and BJD holding each other responsible for the situation in Sambalpur.
The BJP on Friday laid the blame of the recent violence during lawyers’ protest and subsequent arrest of many of them squarely at the state government’s feet and asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take up the matter with the Bar Council of India and ensure restoration of normalcy in court work as soon as possible.
In a letter to the chief minister, the saffron party MPs from western Odisha Suresh Pujari, Sangeeta Singhdeo, Basant Panda, Jual Oram and Nitish Gangdeb demanded immediate steps for release of the arrested lawyers. “The state government should take up the matter with the Bar Council of India to revoke the suspension of licences of the lawyers in the interest of poor litigants as well as restoration of peace, tranquillity and conducive healthy atmosphere in the state,” they stated.
Targeting the state government for its silence on the issue, Pujari told mediapersons that such unpleasant situation could have been prevented if timely action was taken. The chief minister who also holds the Home portfolio should explain why 17 platoons of police force deployed at the protest site failed to tackle the situation.
Now, BJP-BJD fight over W Odisha high court bench issue
Pujari said had the chief minister replied to a letter of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on April 20 and submitted a detailed proposal for a high court bench after discussion with the Governor and Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, such situation could have been avoided.
Previous law ministers had also sought a detailed report from the chief minister but the latter failed to respond, he said. The MPs said the Union Law minister has made statements in the Parliament several times for an agreeable resolution. It for the state government to respond and submit a concrete proposal, they stated.
The ruling BJD immediately hit back stating only the Centre can do so by using its powers under entry-78 of the Union list through the Parliament. Alleging that the BJP is misleading people by spreading lies on the sensitive matter, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said several times in the past - the latest on September 5, 2018 - the chief minister had committed to the Centre to provide all adequate resources including infrastructure and finance, for setting up of a permanent bench of the high court.
Patra said it is surprising why the Centre is not naming the location of the bench in consultation with the Orissa High Court. “The Centre can establish the high court bench through the Parliament by exercising its powers under entry-78 of the Union List in Indian Constitution,” he stated.