Kejriwal dares PM Modi to impose 75% tariff on US imports to India
Rajkot (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party's convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "show some courage" and impose 75 per cent tariff on imports from the US in response to its 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports.
At a press conference here, Kejriwal claimed the Centre's decision to exempt 11 per cent duty on cotton imports from the US till December 31, 2025 would hurt the Indian cotton farmers. It will make the US farmers rich and Gujarat cultivators poor, he added.
India currently has an import duty exemption for raw cotton until December 31 this year to support the textile industry and lower input costs.
Kejriwal said, "We demand from the prime minister to show courage, the whole country is standing behind you. America has imposed 50 per cent tariff on exports from India. You impose 75 per cent tariff on imports coming from America, the country is ready to bear it. Just impose it. Then see if Trump bows down or not."
He also demanded 11 per cent duty on cotton imported from the US, fixing Minimum Support Price and procurement of cotton at Rs 2,100 per 20 kg, as well as subsidy on fertilizers and seeds to help the Indian farmers.
The former Delhi chief minister claimed USA's 50 per cent tariff on India has also affected diamond workers because the Modi government has "fallen on its knees" in front of President Donald Trump.
The Centre last month said its decision to extend the import duty exemption on cotton until December 31 will strengthen India's position in export markets, reviving orders for small and medium enterprises as well as export-oriented units.
The move comes at a time when the steep 50 per cent tariffs imposed on Indian goods by the US come into effect, with America being the largest export market for the country's textile and apparel exports.
Kejriwal was in Gujarat to attend 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' at Chotila in Surendranagar district, which was adjourned due to heavy rains.
When Trump imposed 50 per cent tariff on India, Modi did not increase it in return but reduced it (on cotton imports from the US) by 11 per cent, Kejriwal said and questioned why the PM "bowed down" and became weak.
India is the world's biggest market and people here stand behind Modi, the AAP leader pointed out.
"The whole country is standing behind Modiji. He (Trump) imposed 50 per cent tariff, Modiji should have imposed 100 per cent tariff on cotton. Trump would have had to bow down. Trump is a coward, a timid person. He had to bow down to all countries that defied him. Shut down four American companies and they will be in trouble," he claimed.
Due to India's policy decision to remove 11 per cent duty on cotton imported from the US, the produce of Indian farmers will not be sold when they take it to the market in October-November, Kejriwal said.
"When cotton from the US will arrive (in India), farmers here will get less than Rs 900 in the market. This is what is happening with the farmers -- their (US) farmers are being made rich and the farmers of Gujarat are being made poor," he further claimed.
The central government first removed this duty for 40 days - from August 19 to September 30. But now it has been extended and removed till December 31, Kejriwal said.
"Now, farmers of our country have no way to sell their cotton. The farmer of our country has bought seeds and fertilizers by taking a loan, has paid money to (farm) labourers, now how will he repay the loan? He will have no option left except to commit suicide," the AAP convener claimed.
He also questioned India's "helplessness" in front of America.
"Under Trump's pressure, our central government forced farmers of the country to commit suicide, by removing the 11 per cent duty," he charged.
The other countries on which Trump imposed tariffs responded strongly and the US president had to "bow down" and remove tariff, but India did not take any action, Kejriwal claimed.
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Media dinner shooting suspect wrote about targeting of administration officials, Trump says
Washington (AP): The man accused of trying to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives had written about targeting Trump administration officials, and his family raised concerns with law enforcement before the event, President Donald Trump said Sunday in an interview on Fox News Channel.
The accused gunman's family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said, revealing new details about a chaotic encounter that disrupted one of Washington's glitziest annual events the night before.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect travelled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.
Law enforcement officials who have interviewed Allen's relatives, examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.
He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Authorities believe the suspect fired the shot that hit the Secret Service officer, who is expected to make a full recovery, Blanche said.
“He's going to be great, he's going to be fine, and thank God he was wearing a bulletproof vest,” Blanche said Sunday on ABC's “This Week.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.
“It's always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” Trump told reporters in a hastily organised news conference at the White House late Saturday.
