Siddaramaiah takes jibe at PM Modi over 'God sent' remark, asks whether he is divine incarnation
Bengaluru, May 27: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reported 'God sent' comment and wondered whether he was the divine incarnation.
He also asserted that claims of turning this country that is so diverse, into a 'Hindu Rashtra' was not possible.
The CM was speaking at an event organised by the state Congress to commemorate first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary
"Narendra Modi now says he was sent by god. Look at the irony. He says --god has sent me to make Viksit Bharat by 2047. Is he the incarnation of god?," Siddaramaiah asked.
He said, "Not even a single day, he launched any programmes aimed at the poor, Dalits, backward classes, minorities, and unemployed. There should be equality among all and equal opportunity for all... has he taken efforts to achieve it?"
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"Fully aware of their (BJP/NDA) defeat, Narendra Modi is uttering whatever comes out of his mouth. He is doing it intentionally for the sake of votes by dividing Hindus and Muslims. He is doing it for polarisation of votes.
While speaking to the media, he says he stands for all people, but during election rallies he uses hate speech against Muslims," he added.
The CM's remark come in the wake of PM Modi's interview to a national news channel in which he reportedly said that he was not biological but sent by god.
Claiming that the BJP doesn't believe in pluralism, Siddaramaiah said this is a country that represents pluralism with multiple religions, castes, and languages.
"In a country that is so diverse, autocracy, and statements like we will make this a Hindu Rashtra is a dream talk. It is not possible in this country, one has to clearly understand this," he added.
Crediting Nehru for establishing democracy in the country, setting up several public sector industries and educational institutions, and building big dams, Siddaramaiah asked whether PM Modi, who claims that Congress did nothing for India, has constructed at least one dam, or established a public sector industry in 10 years.
ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ @narendramodi ಅವರಿಗೆ @BJP4India, ಎನ್ ಡಿ ಎ ಸೋಲು ಖಚಿತವಾಗಿ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿದೆ. ಹತಾಶರಾಗಿ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ವಿಚಿತ್ರವಾಗಿ ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ದೇವರೇ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸೋಲಿನ ಸುಳಿವು ಮೋದಿಯವರನ್ನು ಈ ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 27, 2024
ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂವಿಧಾನದ ಆಶಯಗಳಿಗೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಮಾರ್ಪಡಿಸಲು… pic.twitter.com/gVwBGfvfre
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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat
Toronto (AP/PTI): Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official has said.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
But Trump posted Wednesday evening on Truth Social that he had a "wonderful conversation" with new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico".
"Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!" Trump posted.
It was unclear what impact the conversation will have on Trump's plan to impose tariffs.
In Canada, a government official said on Wednesday that Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports USD 3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 per cent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are ready to make new investments in border security and work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 per cent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada's provinces. He stressed they need to present a united front.
"I don't want to minimize for a moment the gravity of the challenge we now face," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. "Now is really a moment for us not to squabble amongst ourselves."
The provincial premiers want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, said earlier Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs "if the situation comes to that."
She later said she talked to Trump and had "an excellent conversation".
