Rajasthan Cabinet reshuffle: After Kumari Selja, D K Shivakumar makes quick trip to Jaipur
Jaipur, Aug 3: After Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja, Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar on Tuesday met Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot here in the run-up to an expected reshuffle of the state Cabinet.
The back-to-back visits have fuelled speculation over possible hiccups in the plan to expand the Gehlot Cabinet, in which MLAs loyal to former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot want a bigger representation.
He came from Bengaluru and held a meeting with the chief minister, which lasted for nearly an hour at the chief minister's residence, a party leader said after Shivakumar's visit.
Shivakumar is expected to brief the party's central leadership about this meeting at his scheduled interactions with AICC leaders in Delhi on Wednesday.
On Sunday night, Kumari Selja too had met Gehlot.
There has been no official statement on the visits by Congress leaders to the state ruled by the party.
But Congress sources had said Selja came to convey a message from the party's central leadership. She is considered close to both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Gehlot.
Congress general secretary Ajay Maken, who is in-charge of Rajasthan at the AICC, last week held a series of meetings with party MLAs and state unit leaders in Jaipur.
He had said all leaders he met left the decision on the reshuffle to the high command.
In a clear indication that some members of the Gehlot Cabinet may be dropped, Maken on Friday said a few ministers had expressed willingness to quit the state government and work for the organisation.
Including Gehlot, there are 21 members now in the Rajasthan ministry and up to nine more can be accommodated. Similarly, there are vacancies in party units at the district level.
The Congress high command had brought about a truce in the Rajasthan unit after rebel MLAs led by Pilot appeared to bring the Gehlot government to the brink of collapse last year.
A three-member AICC committee was formed to look into the grievances of Pilot supporters. But they claim that this has not happened even months later and are seeking a bigger share of power.
Shivakumar's own state faced a political tussle in 2019 between the BJP and the then JD (U)-Congress government there.
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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.
