UP school teachers suspended after Bajrang Dal protest over framed Quranic verse
Sambhal (Uttar Pradesh): Members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad forcibly entered a government primary school in Nagla Purva village of Sambhal district and objected to a framed Quranic verse displayed above the gate of a classroom . Their objection led to the suspension of two teachers pending an inquiry.
The activists alleged that assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim was giving Islamic lessons to students. Nazim denied the charges. The school staff and local residents also denied the allegation, as reported by The Observer Post. Videos of the incident surfaced on social media, showing protestors entering the school premises, questioning teachers, and inspecting classrooms, blackboards, and books.
The video also showed the protestors asking children whether namaz was being conducted in school? The students denied any such activity in the school.
Nazim was quoted by The Observer Post as saying that he had strictly followed the prescribed government syllabus and had never taught any religious content to students. He described the allegations as false and politically motivated. The claims of the removal of the posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Goddess Saraswati, made by the protestors were also denied by the school staff.
Following a written complaint to the police, the framed verse was removed from the school, while Basic Shiksha Adhikari Alka Sharma ordered the suspension of headmistress Pushpa Jatav and assistant teacher Mohammad Nazim. Sharma said the suspensions were precautionary and noted that it would remain in effect while a departmental inquiry was conducted.
Local education activists and residents have criticized the action. They questioned the decision to suspend the teachers before the investigation was concluded. Some argue that the suspension was motivated by street protests rather than proven facts.
Sambhal's Muslim community has also expressed their concerns about what they called selective scrutiny. They also questioned why similar issues were not raised about other religious symbols commonly present in public places.
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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.
