With Nitish Kumar by his side, KCR in Patna calls for 'BJP mukt Bharat'
Patna, Aug 31: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who met his counterpart in Bihar Nitish Kumar, as part of efforts to forge opposition unity, on Wednesday called for a BJP mukt Bharat , blaming the saffron party's government at the Centre for the many ills plaguing the country.
At a press conference he addressed in the presence of Kumar, whom he fondly called "bade bhai" (big brother), Rao skirted questions about who will lead a united opposition and whether the Congress will be taken on board.
Rao is one of the most vocal satraps opposed to the BJP.
These things will be decided in due course. We are in no hurry , said Rao, in reply to questions about the prime ministerial candidate and the role of the Congress, to which his Telangana Rashtra Samiti is bitterly opposed.
He blamed the Narendra Modi government for capital drain, a term he coined rhyming 'brain drain' to underscore that businesses were withdrawing their money from the country because of the Centre's policies.
Rao also flayed the Modi government for having brought in the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces without consulting any of the opposition parties.
The TRS chief, who is popularly known as KCR , also slammed the Centre for going on a privatisation spree and showing indifference towards states' concerns, citing the example of "turning down" Bihar's demand for special category status.
KCR also ridiculed Modi for having uttered Ab ki baar Trump sarkaar during a visit to the US many years ago, calling it a diplomatic blunder .
To a pointed query about whether the Bihar CM, who dumped the BJP earlier this month, could be considered as the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition, KCR evaded a direct reply but said Nitish Kumar is among the senior-most and best leaders in the country. We will decide these things later.
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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.
