Tripura health minister dropped for ''anti-party activities''
Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has dropped Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman from the Cabinet, a state government notification said.
Barman, who had joined the BJP from the Trinamool Congress two years ago, was removed on Friday night, a week after Deb warned of stern action against "enemies in the BJP".
Party leaders on condition of anonymity claimed that 56-year-old Barman was dropped due to "anti-party activities". Barman could not be reached for a comment.
A notification of the Department of General Administration (Confidential and Cabinet) issued late on Friday night said the departments held by Barman would be reassigned to the chief minister and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Devvarma.
A five-time MLA, Barman was the leader of the opposition and president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC). He joined Trinamool Congress in 2016, and then defected to the BJP in 2017 with a group of Congress MLAs.
There were demands of cabinet reshuffle in the party, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said.
Party leaders wanted that cabinet berths should be filled up on the basis of the track records of leaders.
"Three cabinet berths were not filled up when the new cabinet of the BJP-IPFT government took oath of office. With Barman's exit another berth became vacant," he told PTI.
"It is presumed that there will be reshuffle of the council of ministers and some new members will be incorporated on the basis of the performance of those leaders," he said.
The BJP-IPFT government came to power in the state one-and-a-half years ago.
The chief minister, who holds seven portfolios including home, would now also be in charge of the departments such as PWD (Drinking Water and Sanitation), Industries and Commerce (IT) and Health and Family Welfare.
The deputy chief minister, who also holds the portfolio of finance would hold the charge of Science, Technology and Environment Department.
After the results of all the two parliamentary constituencies were announced on May 23, Deb told reporters that despite conspiracies hatched by the 'enemies inside BJP', the party had won with a huge margin. He said stern action would be taken against the conspirators.
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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.
