Saraswati Puja row in college: Bengal Speaker says no effort to thwart festival to be allowed
Kolkata, Jan 31 (PTI): Following a row between two groups of students over organising Saraswati Puja in a Kolkata college, West Bengal Speaker Biman Banerjee on Friday said any attempt to stop the celebrations will not be allowed.
Banerjee, a renowned lawyer, told reporters the puja should be allowed in the Jogeshchandra Law College premises like previous years and those trying to stop the festivities should be dealt with sternly.
"No effort to stop Saraswati Puja in the college will be allowed. If anyone tries to stop the festival by threat or coercion or any other means, strict action needs to be taken," he said.
His comments came in the backdrop of a section of students of the college alleging on January 30 that they were not being allowed to organise the puja by a group of outsiders who are some students of the institute.
They also alleged the spot earmarked for their puja was blocked by the rival camp which erected its own pandal to host the festival.
In the wake of the situation, a student moved a petition before the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention in the matter.
The single bench of Justice Joy Sengupta of Calcutta High Court asked Kolkata police to ensure that the ceremony is held with adequate security.
Organising Saraswati Puja has been the practice in educational institutions - colleges, schools and universities - for years.
The ABVP held a protest rally near the college campus gate to protest the alleged attempt to stop the Saraswati puja by some people.
The rallyists also conducted a symbolic 'akal (untimely) pushpanjali' ritual before the college gate and submitted a memorandum to the local police station demanding that the authorities take action to ensure students were not harassed for organising the puja on the campus by any group.
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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.
