T MPs, Dattatraya meet Rajnath for HC division

Annoyed over the suspension of judges in Telangana State for staging a protest along with lawyers and a rally to Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad, TRS Parliamentary Members G Vinod Kumar, Vishweshwar Reddy and others today met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to resolve the pending issue of High Court bifurcation without any further delay. They also demanded immediate rollback of judges’ suspension and speedy decision to bifurcate the Hyderabad High Court among two Telugu States and settle the issue permanently.

According to the information, a total number of judges suspended for the protest rose to 11 by combined High Court on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media in Delhi later, Vinod Kumar lamented that the Centre was adopting delaying tactics although they made continuous appeals on the need for bifurcation of the High Court. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is perturbed at the suspension of the judges and the prevailing situation of lawyers strike and boycotting their duties across the State, he said. The Centre should respond on the uprising issue before KCR takes up his massive protest at Delhi, he suggested. Injustice was being meted out to Telangana judicial officers in the combined High Court and Chief Minister KCR was contemplating to stage dharna at Jantar Mantar in the national capital for the cause of lawyers and judges and bifurcation of the High Court, he said. The Centre should take a spontaneous decision to protect the rights of the lawyers bestowed upon by the Constitution, he added.

“We have demanded that Home Minister Rajnath Singh avoid delay in taking a key decision in this regard which ultimately will do justice to the two States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh”, Vinod Kumar said. The situation of lawyers’ stir and chaos among the advocates community was taken to the notice of Rajnath Singh and sought speedy justice, he said. “We have urged the Centre to expedite the process of bifurcation of the high court. Though the Telangana Government has already offered to provide a building or land for the new High Court for AP in Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh Government was neglecting the issue”, he charged.

Dattatreya meets Rajnath

In a related development, Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatraya, along with a delegation of Telangana lawyers also met Rajnath Singh separately. Dattatraya apprised Rajnath Singh of the escalating unrest among the advocates and judges while total number of judges suspended rose to 11 by the combined high court on Tuesday and advocates were boycotting the courts and planning to take out “Chalo High Court” on Wednesday. The Labour Minister urged Rajnath Singh to respond instantaneously on the issue of the high court bifurcation which was pending for two years.

After a patient hearing, Rajnath Singh said he would talk to Chief Ministers of the two Telugu States K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu and also Union Law Minister Sadanda Gowda. Dattatreya also met Sadanda Gowda on the issue for a speedy decision for a logical end. (NSS)