Congress will never make Satish Jarkiholi Chief Minister: Govind Karjol
Hubballi: Member of Parliament Govind Karjol launched a sharp critique against the Congress party on Thursday, asserting that they will never appoint a Dalit leader as Chief Minister and are merely using the community as a "vote bank."
Speaking to reporters in the city, Karjol stated, "The Congress will never, for any reason, make Satish Jarkiholi the Chief Minister. The discussion around a Dalit Chief Minister is limited to just talk."
He accused the Siddaramaiah-led government of fostering internal conflict while the party's central leadership in Delhi remained passive. "Mallikarjun Kharge has been striving to become Chief Minister for 40 years, and Dr. G. Parameshwara for 20 years, but to no avail," Karjol remarked.
The BJP leader claimed that despite being in power for the majority of the post-independence era, Congress has consistently deceived the Dalit community by taking their votes without ever appointing a leader from the community to the state's top post.
Karjol also raised the issue of internal reservations, questioning the Congress government's inaction. "We have been fighting for internal reservation for 35 years. What is the Congress, which came to power promising its implementation, doing now?" he asked.
He further criticised the state government's handling of the matter in the Supreme Court.
"The Supreme Court had issued an order regarding internal reservation from the perspective of social justice... However, when the case was recently heard in the Supreme Court, no one from the state government was present for the proceedings," Karjol alleged.
"The government led by Siddaramaiah is not prepared to implement social justice. It is only engaged in eyewash, doing injustice to the poor, and sowing seeds of poison in society. Their intention is to keep the internal reservation issue unresolved," he added.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
