Lawyers under GST: Cong rally on Nov. 22
The lawyer’s wing of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee will hold a protest against the Centre for putting them under the ambit of GST by bringing them in the commercial category.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, who practices at district and Delhi high court said that the legal profession is considered a noble profession, but they have now been put under the commercial category.
“Doctors are exempted in Goods and Services Tax (GST) saying their profession is noble. Is our profession not noble? We should not be put under commercial category. The Delhi government is also charging commercial rates from the lawyers’ offices. We will oppose their policies,” Mr Ahmed said. He said they would hold a protest rally on Nov. 22 at Raj Ghat.
K.C. Mittal, former chairperson, AICC legal wing, said when city Congress chief Ajay A sessions court has upheld the one-year sentence of a man held guilty in a sexual harassment case saying there was a need of awarding stringent punishment to such people so as to send a strong message to the society.
“Persons who have no respect for women need to be taught that such behaviour will invite stringent punishment,” it noted in the order.
Special judge Sandeep Yadav upheld the sentence of convict Virender Kumar, while dismissing his appeal against a magisterial court order that had sent him behind bars terming the crime committed by him as serious.
“The sentence awarded to Kumar is just, fair and adequate and is commensurate with the seriousness of crime committed by him,” the judge said.
He said such persons “who have no respect for the dignity of women, need to be taught that a person with any deviant behaviour indented to outrage the modesty of a woman will invite punishment. No leniency can be shown in such cases.”
The court also upheld a penalty of `10,000 imposed on him with a direction that the amount should be paid to the victim. Kumar, in his appeal, contended that the complaint was false and fabricated and the woman’s husband. Maken used to be the Union urban development minister, he included lawyers in the definition of professionals in the 2021 Master Plan so that they would not be charged commercial rates on power consumption etc in their offices.
Apart from this the Delhi Congress’s professional wing is also mulling to launch a campaign against the state government and the Centre for failing to reduce pollution level in the city.
Congress leader Chattar Singh said the Kejriwal government has not taken any step to improve the city’s air quality in the face of alarming pollution levels.