HC bench demanded in western Odisha

A delegation of the Central Action Committee on Monday met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding a permanent bench of Orissa High Court in the western part of the state.

They requested the Chief Minister to send a high-level delegation to hold talks with the Centre regarding the bench and get a Bill passed during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

"The Chief Minister assured us that he would write another strong letter to the Centre. However, we demanded that a delegation of the state government should visit Delhi and talk to the Centre," convener of the committee Ashok Das told media persons here.

Spokesperson of the committee Sureshwar Mishra said the Chief Minister had written a letter to the Central Government in this regard in September 2013.

"That letter was received by the then Central Government and also initiated the future course of action. The present Central Government has thrown it into the cold storage. No follow-up action has been taken by the state government here for the last five years," said Mishra.

He said Odisha MPs should put pressure on the Central government so that the Bill is passed in the Parliament during the current monsoon session.

On the other hand, Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati demanded that a permanent bench of Orissa High Court should be set up in Koraput.

"Naveen Patnaik is doing politics on the matter. He should recommend setting up two benches-one in western Odisha and one in Koraput," said Bahinipati.

--IANS

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