Agra Strike: Advocates and Clerks protest against Privatization of Registry Office in Agra
In Agra, the strike by advocates, clerks, and stamp vendors continued for the fourth day on Thursday. They are protesting against the government’s plan to privatize the registry office. Because of the strike, no work could be done at the registry office — no deeds were registered, and no copies of important documents were issued. The hearing of revenue-related cases in various courts, including those of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Tehsildar, also came to a halt.
Why Are They Protesting?
There are five registry offices in Sadar Tehsil, Agra. The government is planning to hand over the work at the front office to a private agency. This move has upset the advocates, clerks, and stamp vendors, who believe that privatization will harm their work and the rights of common people.
To show their disagreement, the Sadar Tehsil Bar Association called for a strike, and everyone involved — from lawyers to stamp vendors — joined in. Click here to read more news about Privatization.
What Happened on the Fourth Day?
On Thursday, the fourth day of the protest, the advocates organized a havan (a religious ritual) to pray for the change of heart or “purification of mind” of the Stamp and Registration Minister.
Senior officials, including ADM Finance and Revenue Shubhangi Shukla and Assistant Inspector General AK Singh, tried to hold talks with the protesters to find a solution. But the advocates decided that they will continue the strike on Friday as well. Click here to read more news about Privatization.
What Are the Protesters Demanding?
According to Arvind Kumar Dubey, the General Secretary of the Bar Association, the strike will only end if they receive a written assurance from the government that their concerns will be addressed. Without this, they have no plans to call off the strike.
Many prominent people from the legal and clerical community were present during the protest, including Radha Yadav, Shri Krishna Dixit, Divyansh Pandey, Krishna Murari Dixit, Vimal Tiwari, Dinesh Chandra Sharma, Lal Bahadur Rajput, Satish Agarwal, Ram Upadhyay, Shyam Sundar Sharma and Nishant Chaturvedi.
The ongoing strike at the registry offices in Agra has brought all work to a standstill. Advocates, clerks, and stamp vendors are strongly opposing the move to privatize the front office operations. Talks between government officials and protesters have so far failed, and the strike will continue until the protesters receive a written promise from the government.
