Hyderabad:
Over 100 courts in the Telangana region, including the Andhra Pradesh High Court, have been shut for the past three days. That's because lawyers belonging to the region say they want 42 per cent of all jobs in courts in the region. (
Read: Telangana lawyers protest for job quota)
The government says people from Telangana are already adequately represented. " In every category, it is much more than 42 per cent. In certain categories, it is even 45, 46 or 48 per cent," says Geetha Reddy, Andhra Pradesh's Information Minister.
The government gives out numbers of people working in Telangana's courts to support its claims. Out of the 39 Government Pleaders, 18 are from Telangana. 33 of the 73 Assistant Pleaders are also from the region, as are 26 out of the 59 Standing Counsels.
The protesting lawyers say these numbers are incorrect. They claim people who have settled in the Telangana region for a few years are being counted as natives of the region. (
Read: Andhra Pradesh: Immolation bid by lawyer)
"They should have completed their schooling in Telangana and their fathers should already be settled here. It is not that you come here, do your LLB for three years and say we are from Telangana. That is the list the government is showing," says K Krishna of the Telangana Advocates' Forum.
The lawyers agitation is the latest episode in the Telangana imbroglio that has engulfed Andhra Pradesh since December 2009. With political parties like the Telangana Rashtra Samity (TRS) now joining issue, the idea clearly is to keep the Telangana pot boiling.