Infiltrators to be removed not only from electoral rolls but also from country in next 5 yrs: Shah
Guwahati (PTI): Asserting that if India can be free of Naxals, it can also be free of infiltrators, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the illegal immigrants would be removed not only from the electoral rolls but also from the country in the next five years.
Shah was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for a new campus of the Assam Police 10th Battalion, which he said would be constructed on land freed from encroachments by infiltrators.
"It is, however, not enough to evict the infiltrators from the encroached land as they will go and settle elsewhere... They must be removed from the country," he said.
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Attacking Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Shah said that the Congress leader had once said that infiltrators would be removed, but the "Congress can't do so as illegal immigrants are its votebank".
Congress' policy of protecting the infiltrators has threatened Assam's 'jati' (people), 'mati' (land) and 'bheti' (foundation), he alleged.
"If the Congress is committed to get rid of infiltrators, I challenge Rahul Gandhi to mention it in its manifesto," he said.
Shah said that Assam will become the industrial hub of eastern and northeastern India in the next five years.
Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly are expected to be held in March-April.
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Indian govt weighs impact of US Supreme Court tariff ruling: Comm Min
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian government is studying the developments on the US tariffs and their implications, the Commerce Ministry said on Saturday.
"We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs yesterday (Friday). US President Donald Trump has also addressed a press conference in this regard.
"Some steps have been announced by the US administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications," the ministry said.
In a major setback to Trump's pivotal economic agenda for his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that the tariffs imposed by the president on nations around the world were illegal and that he had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.
Later, Trump's proclamation, dated February 20, said: "I impose, for a period of 150 days, a temporary import surcharge of 10 per cent ad valorem on articles imported into the United States, effective February 24, 2026".
The US had imposed a reciprocal tariff of 25 per cent on India in August.
Later, an additional 25 per cent was imposed for buying Russian crude oil, taking the total tariffs on India to 50 per cent. Earlier this month, both countries agreed to finalise an interim trade deal, under which Washington will cut down the tariffs to 18 per cent.
So far, the punitive 25 per cent has been removed. The remaining 25 per cent exists.
After the proclamation, the tariffs on Indian goods will now be 10 per cent. The 10 per cent levy is over and above the existing MFN or import duties in the US.
In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision on tariffs, Trump said there is no change in the trade deal with India and emphasised that the India deal is on.
To finalise the legal text for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the Indian team is scheduled to meet its counterparts in Washington from February 23, 2026.
During 2021-25, the US was India's largest trading partner in goods. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total exports, 6.22 per cent in imports and 10.73 per cent in bilateral trade.
In 2024-25, the bilateral trade touched USD 186 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports and USD 45.3 billion imports).
