Goa Speaker rejects plea to disqualify 8 Congress MLAs who joined BJP
Panaji: Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar has dismissed the disqualification petition against eight MLAs who switched allegiance from Congress to the BJP in September 2022. Citing a recent Supreme Court ruling and a similar case, Dominic Noronha vs Digambar Kamat, the Speaker stated that since two-thirds of the Congress legislature party had supported the merger, the MLAs were protected under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution and would not face disqualification.
The petition, filed by former state Congress president Girish Chodankar, sought to disqualify MLAs Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Faldessai, and Rodolfo Fernandes. Chodankar argued that by joining the BJP, the MLAs had voluntarily given up their Congress membership, warranting disqualification to prevent defection. Represented by Advocate Abhijit Gosavi, he emphasised the importance of party loyalty in a democratic setup, in line with the objective of the 10th Schedule.
However, the MLAs argued that they constituted two-thirds of the Congress legislature party and thus, legally merged with the BJP. They referenced the recent dismissal of a similar petition in the Noronha vs Kamat case. The Speaker supported this view, ruling that the disqualification claim was both factually and legally unfounded.
Chodankar, dissatisfied with the decision, announced plans to challenge the order in either the High Court or the Supreme Court.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
