Lawyers organise protest rallies

Lawyers across the country on Wednesday abstained from work and organised protest rallies on a call given by the Bar Council of India (BCI), demanding budgetary allocations of Rs 5,000 crore including insurance and housing facilities for them.

A delegations of lawyers led by BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra also met Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad with their demands on Tuesday afternoon.

After expressing "dissatisfaction and dismay on hollow assurances by the Union government", the BCI decided to meet again on March 2 to chart out a future course of some "strong actions" if the government did not accept their demands.

Protest rallies were organised in state capitals across the country. As many as 35,000 lawyers assembled for a rally at 'Jantar Mantar' to raise their demands, a press release issued by the BCI stated.

Among the demands of lawyers are monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 for new entrants up to five years and financial protection to a lawyer's family members.