Dharmendra urges CM Naveen to intervene in police-lawyer spat

Bhubaneswar: Amid the ongoing lawyers’ strike over alleged thrashing of an advocate by the Odisha police, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today sought Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's intervention to end the stalemate in the interest of the people of the State.

In a Facebook post (video), Pradhan expressed concerns over the problems people are facing due to the deadlock in the court proceedings.

He said, "Due to the spat, employment, land disputes, bails and other issues concerning the common man have been severely affected. A judiciary-executive face-off situation has emerged. So, what will be the solution to this problem? Shouldn't the head of the State be concerned about it?"

"As the Opposition, whenever we target the State government on issues pertaining to people's interest, the leaders of the ruling-BJD get stung. As the Home Ministry is under the CM, he has some sort of responsibility towards the judiciary. I am not here to decide who is right or who is wrong; but as the government is sitting over the issue without finding a solution to the impasse, it exposes their sheer apathy," stated the Petroleum minister.

The sooner the deadlock ends, the better it will be for the people waiting to get justice. The State government, especially the CM, needs to intervene. The CM may give the responsibility to either the DG, chief secretary or anyone else, but there's an urgent need to find a solution to this problem, he added.

"Apathy and callousness on part of the government will paralyse the society. The CM should be concerned about it and I urge him to intervene," said Pradhan.