Be ready for Nitish's 'Dhokha number 2': Upendra Kushwaha warns BJP
Patna, Jun 2: Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha Sunday cautioned the saffron party that Nitish Kumar will "betray" it and it should be ready for "Dhokha number 2" from the JD(U) president
"I want to tell BJP people that Nitish Kumar has been known for disrespecting the people's mandate. Betraying people's mandate and alliance partners are his old habits...BJP people should be ready to witness 'Dhokha number 2'," Kushwaha told reporters here.
"Aisa koi saga nahi jisko Nitish ne thaga nahi (There is nobody who has not been cheated by Nitish)," he said. This idiom will be translated into action here soon and hence the BJP should remain "cautious", he said.
Kushwaha was talking to reporters here after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP in June 2013 after Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, was made the saffron party's campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Kumar later joined hands with the RJD and Congress to form Grand Alliance in Bihar which won the last state elections. However, in July 2017 Kumar brought down the Grand Alliance government as he pulled out of the grouping. But within hours, he joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister again.
Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD(U) would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of 'sour grapes'.
Asked as to why he thought his party and the Mahagathbandhan were routed in the Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP chief claimed that the BJP's top leadership "misled the people of the country as part of their conspiracy to deflect attention from actual issues" and people voted on non-issues.
"We have learnt a lesson and will be cautious and aware of their (BJP's) conspiracy in elections."
Replying to another query, he said that the RJD-Congress-RLSP-HAM Grand Alliance in Bihar is united and will remain so in future.
Asked if he though Tejashwi Yadav was responsible for Grand Alliance's defeat in Bihar, Kushwaha said one person cannot be held responsible.
The former Union minister termed the Bihar CM's decision to fill 32,000 posts of teachers in the state's secondary and higher secondary schools as an "eye-wash". The decision would not bring quality education in state-run schools, he said.
Kumar should alter the selection procedure and appoint quality teachers through examination held either by Bihar Public Service Commission or any other specialised body, he said.
Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar.
If the state government forms a delegation of political parties or chalks out any programme, the RLSP would extend it support for the cause, he added.
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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.
