Lawyers across the State burnt effigies of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at noon on Wednesday in front of the offices of their respective Bar Associations.
Alleging that the State government had not taken any initiative to resolve the lawyers-police bickering, the High Court Bar Association, which has been agitating for over two months now, on Tuesday had given the call to burn the effigies.
Responding to the call, over 160 Bar Associations on the day burnt Mr. Patnaik’s effigies after taking out ‘mourning processions’ with biers.
The lawyers also raised slogans against Mr. Patnaik, his government, the Biju Janata Dal Legal Front and the police.
‘Politically motivated’
Reacting to the protests, BJD Legal Front adviser and senior advocate Asim Amitav Dash alleged that the ongoing strike by the High Court Bar Association is politically motivated and those leading it have ulterior motives. “The State government had, in fact, taken several measures to resolve the face-off between lawyers and police,” Mr. Dash said, adding that the BJD Legal Front has distanced itself from the ongoing strike.