Small traders in Karnataka to begin two-day protest over GST notices from July 23
Bengaluru: Small-scale traders across Karnataka are set to begin a two-day protest on July 23 and 24, opposing GST notices served to them reportedly by the state’s Commercial Tax Department. The protest, led by the Karnataka Karmika Parishath, will not involve a complete shutdown of business, but traders will stop selling dairy products, including tea and coffee, reported Deccan Herald.
Quoting Karnataka Karmika Parishath President Ravi Shetty Byndoor, Deccan Herald reported that while shops would remain open, traders would wear black bands as a mark of protest. He said most of the notices had been issued to bakeries and condiment stores, and added that the government should focus on educating traders about tax procedures before taking any action.
The association, which has around 65,000 members, has also planned a larger protest on July 25 at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. On that day, all shops affiliated with the association will remain closed, and members from across the state will gather in the city to voice their concerns.
Another group, the Karnataka State Association of Bakeries, Condiments and Small Enterprises, is holding a similar protest on July 24.
The association has reportedly asked the government to withdraw the notices and instead allow businesses with an annual turnover of over ₹40 lakh to pay a flat 1% tax based on available records under the presumptive tax scheme.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
