Agra: As the city prepares for US president Barack Obama ’s visit, more than 12,000 lawyers across Agra division are making plans to form a “human wall” to stop him from visiting the Taj Mahal. The lawyers have set a deadline for the Prime Minister, saying if by January 25, Narendra Modi does not make a commitment that he will announce the creation of an Allahabad high court bench in Agra in the next Budget session of Parliament, they will go ahead with their plan.

Taking their struggle a step further, the advocates who have been on a strike for more than two month to press for setting up of a high court bench in Agra, refused to resume the work in the court work, awaiting word from the PM.

“The strike is being backed by advocates of more than 14 districts,” claimed the K D Sharma, convener of the action committee set up for the task. He said, “If we do not receive any response from PM Modi by next Sunday, we will stop the US president’s cavalcade before it reaches Taj Mahal.

“More than 12,000 lawyers from various bar councils will form a human wall on January 27, for their legitimate demand. Apart from lawyers, we also expect MP ​Ramshankar Katheria, Union minister of state for HRD, Mainpuri MP Tej Pratap Singh Yadav and Firozabad's Akshay Yadav to be a part of the human wall, as they have already given their assent for the establishment of a high court bench in Agra,” said Sharma.

Talking to TOI, Anil Chaudhary, representative of Union minister Katheria, said, “The minister supports the demand of the lawyers for the implementation of the Jaswant Singh Commission recommendations but due to prior commitments in Delhi, he won't be available in Agra on January 27.”

Lok Sabha’s youngest MP from Mainpuri, Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, said, “Neither I nor any SP party member of west UP will be present in any kind of human wall to prevent US president Obama’s movement.”

While terming the behavior of the lawyers “shameful if any citizen of India stops the US president from visiting Taj Mahal”, he said, “We stand firmly behind the demand of lawyers for an HC bench in Agra.”

Meanwhile, lawyers in 12 districts of western UP, including Meerut, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shamli, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Hapur, Moradabad, JP Nagar and Bijnor, have decided to work for three days and continue their strike in the remaining days in support of their demand for an HC bench in Meerut.

Jagdish Sawarasat, president of Aligarh Bar Association, said, “Considering difficulties faced by litigants, we have decided to work for three days a week.”

