Will abide by details in your letter: Rahul writes to LS Secretariat over bungalow vacation
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, saying "without prejudice to his rights", he will abide by the details of their letter on the vacation of his official bungalow following his disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament.
Gandhi was on Monday served a notice to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him by April 22 following his disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha after his conviction in a defamation case last week, official sources said.
Thanking the Secretariat for their letter of March 27, 2023 regarding the cancellation of his accommodation at 12 Tughlak Lane, Gandhi said, "As an elected member of the Lok Sabha over the last four terms, it is the mandate of the people to which I owe the happy memories of my time spent here."
"Without prejudice to my rights, I will, of course, abide by the details contained in your letter," he said in his letter to MS branch of the Lok Sabha Secretariat which had sent him the notice.
The Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha took the decision following which the secretariat of the House served the notice on the former Congress president, a Z-plus protectee who has been living in the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow since 2005.
A local court in Gujarat had convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case on March 23 and sentenced him to two years in jail. The two-year jail term triggered his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member from the date of the verdict. Gandhi was granted bail to allow him to appeal to a higher court in a month.
A senior official said a Member of Parliament (MP) has to vacate the official bungalow within one month of losing his membership.
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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.
