Nation saw Indira, Rajiv 'bleed' for India: Kapil Sibal hits out at PM for 'shahi parivar' dig
New Delhi (PTI): Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "shahi parivar" dig at the Congress and cited the example of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, asserting that the nation saw them "bleed" for India.
In a tweet, Sibal said, "PM said: Congress Shahi Parivar wants Karnataka to 'secede' from India. But Modiji: The nation saw them 'bleed' for India Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi."
"Is the NCERT going to efface those facts from textbooks?" he said.
Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were both assassinated in 1984 and 1991 respectively.
Sibal, who was a Union minister during UPA 1 and 2, quit the Congress May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support.
He recently floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.
Addressing a public meeting in Karnataka on Sunday, Modi said that in this Karnataka election, Congress' 'shahi parivar' (royal family) has gone a step ahead by "breaking all the limits and crushing the feelings of the country".
"Not only Karnataka, I want to tell this to the entire country with a lot of pain that in this election Congress' royal family yesterday came to Karnataka and said they want to protect the sovereignty of Karnataka," the prime minister said.
"Karnataka's sovereignty, you know what is the meaning of it? They have sat in Parliament for so many years, they have taken oath on India's Constitution, and they say this. When a country becomes independent, only then that country is called a sovereign nation. The meaning of what Congress is saying is that the Congress believes that Karnataka is separate from India," Modi had said.
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China raises its retaliatory tariff on the US to 84% as it vows to 'fight to the end'
Bangkok, Apr 9 (AP): China again vowed to "fight to the end" Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the US as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.
Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after US President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%. Beijing said it was launching an additional suit against the US at the World Trade Organization and placed further restrictions on American companies' trade with Chinese companies.
"If the US insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the US.
The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.
On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the US, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump's “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated.
Wednesday's newest measures include adding 11 American companies to a so-called “unreliable entities” list that would bar Chinese companies from selling them dual-use goods. Among the companies are American Photonics, and SYNEXXUS, both of whom work with the American military.
So far, China has not appeared interested in bargaining. “If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian Wednesday.
The paper says that the US has not honoured the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump's first term. As an example, it said that a US law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would "pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals."
Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.
The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and US companies' domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”
It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the US of $26.57 billion in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump's tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.
“History and facts have proven that the United States' increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry. "Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up US inflation pressure, weaken the US industrial base and increase the risk of a US economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself."
