BJP leaders want to organise mega event in Davangere following Siddaramaiah's b'day bash: BJP MLA
Bengaluru, Aug 5: Following a massive turnout at Congress heavyweight Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday bash in the central Karnataka district of Davangere, a section of BJP leaders from the region have urged the party leadership to hold a mega event there, aimed at projecting the achievements and programmes of the state government.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's political secretary and MLA from Honnali in Davangere district, M P Renukacharya said the party's local workers and leaders are asking for such an event to be organised in the district ahead of 2023 state assembly polls.
"Anyways, the division-wise meetings will be held, I will meet Chief Minister and BJP state President Nalin Kumar Kateel to give an opportunity to hold its valedictory event in Davangere. We will organise a mega event, because our leaders and workers are asking (for it)," Renukacharya said.
Speaking to reporters here, he clarified that the event should not be misconstrued as a counter to Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday bash held in Davangere on August 3, that saw a massive gathering.
"The (proposed BJP) event will be to project the public-friendly programmes, schemes and achievements of the BJP government to the people. We have made a request, the Chief Minister and party president will decide and announce," he added.
Attended by its top leader Rahul Gandhi, the Congress tried to use the mega birthday event of Siddaramaiah, with some eight lakh people in attendance according to sources, to virtually sound the poll bugle hoping that the event may draw a rich dividend to the party.
State BJP strongman and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa is said to have cautioned the party leadership that the massive show during Siddaramaiah's event cannot be taken lightly ahead of polls.
Responding to a question, Renukacharya said the BJP is not worried following the successful grand birthday celebrations of Siddaramaiah, pointing out that in fact it was opposed by state Congress President D K Shivakumar and other leaders of the opposition party.
"There are several factions in Congress like - Siddaramaiah faction, D K Shivakumar faction, Mallikarjun Kharge faction, and neutral faction - while in BJP there are no factions," he said, adding that there is respect towards Siddaramaiah as he is a leader of backward communities, but no fear about his birthday event affecting BJP's prospects in the region.
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have been publicly engaged in a game of political one-upmanship for the chief minister's post in the event of Congress coming to power after the Assembly election, and the event on Wednesday was seen as a show of strength by the former CM and his camp.
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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.
