Priyanka releases Assam Cong ‘charge sheet’ against BJP govt
Guwahati (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday released a 20-point ‘charge sheet’ against the BJP-led Assam government in Guwahati, which accused the state administration of indulging in corruption and using its machinery to instil fear among minorities.
The 'charge sheet' was released by the opposition party ahead of the assembly elections.
The Congress alleged that the BJP government failed to keep its assurances of granting ST status to six indigenous communities and increasing the daily wage of tea garden workers to Rs 351 during its decade-long regime.
Vadra, chairperson of the party’s candidate screening committee for the Assam polls, is on a two-day visit to the state.
The Congress also charged the BJP-led government with "rampant corruption".
The party accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his close ministers and their family members of "accumulating wealth illegally".
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US trade deficit slipped to USD 901 billion last year amid Trump tariffs
Washington (AP): The US trade deficit slipped modestly in 2025, a year in which President Donald Trump upended global commerce by slapping double digit tariffs on imports from most countries.
The gap the between the goods and services the US sells other countries and what it buys from them narrowed to just over USD 901 billion from USD 904 billion in 2024, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Exports rose 6 per cent last year, and imports rose nearly 5 per cent.
The trade gap surged from January-March as US companies tried to import foreign goods ahead of Trump's taxes, then narrowed most of the rest of the year.
Trump's tariffs are a tax paid by US importers and often passed along to their customers as higher prices.
But they haven't had as much impact on inflation as economists originally expected. Trump argues that the tariffs will protect US industries, bringing manufacturing back to America and raise money for the US Treasury.
