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The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Kejriwal ‘misled' public by inaugurating fake phansi-ghar: Speaker
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Tuesday accused former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of 'misleading the public' by inaugurating a 'bogus' British-era phansi-ghar (execution room) in the Assembly premises in 2022. Addressing the House, Mr. Gupta said that on August 9, 2022, the phansi-ghar was inaugurated. 'We contacted the National Archives to get the map of the building from 1911-12. From that, it was found out that there was no phansi-ghar here,' he said. The Speaker said the wooden structure in the Assembly was a lift and used as a 'tiffin room' by the members of the Assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members demanded an apology from Mr. Kejriwal for 'misleading' the House, while the Aam Aadmi Party members questioned the Speaker for raising the issue at a time when the city was in the grip of several critical problems. Mr. Gupta said a meeting of historians was called with experts from the Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and others. 'They [experts] also said that it [execution room] is fictitious and the wooden structure is a lift. A sensation was created that it was a phansi-ghar. It was a lie,' the Speaker said. When the AAP members opposed taking up the issue, the Speaker said, 'You are telling lies and distorting the truth... misleading the nation and not even allowing us to discuss the issue.' BJP member Shikha Roy said the 'false claim' is a 'disrespect' to the dignity of the House. 'It is a criminal offence and there should be an FIR on this,' Ms. Roy said. However, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Atishi said that there are numerous issues affecting Delhi, but no discussion is being held on them. AAP member Virendra Singh Kadian stated that MLAs lack expertise in history and have no experience working with the Archaeological Survey of India. 'This discussion is being done without any prior information. If any mistake has been made, it should be rectified. We should not consider taking criminal action or any similar actions. Many important issues have to be discussed in this session,' said Mr. Kadian. However, the Speaker stated that the discussion will continue on Wednesday, and the LoP should provide documents to support the declaration of the room as an execution room. U.K. delegation Meanwhile, the Speaker held a courtesy meeting with the visiting British parliamentary delegation, led by Nusrat Ghani, Deputy Speaker of the U.K. House of Commons. 'Our shared democratic values and historic ties continue to guide the evolving partnership between India and the U.K.,' the Speaker told the delegation.
The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
BJP backs school fee Bill, AAP seeks House scrutiny
The Hindu Bureau The Delhi Assembly on Tuesday saw a heated discussion on the School Education (Fee Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2025, with the Opposition demanding that it be sent to a Select Committee to incorporate feedback from parents and other stakeholders. The debate came a day after Education Minister Ashish Sood tabled the Bill, which aims to regulate fee hikes in private schools. BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay lauded it as a 'revolutionary step' in Delhi's education history, while party colleague Ajay Kumar Mahawar said, 'With this Bill, CM Rekha Gupta is wiping away the tears of lakhs of parents.' However, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Prem Chauhan criticised the composition of the proposed fee regulation committees, pointing out that six out of 11 members would be from the school, potentially compromising impartiality. 'There should have been more parents than administrators,' he said, cautioning that the multilayered redress process could result in delayed justice. 'By the time a complaint is addressed, the child may have already passed out or left the school,' Mr. Chauhan said. He reiterated AAP's demand to refer the Bill to a Select Committee with members from both the BJP and AAP, and called for a freeze on fees for the current academic year, citing delays in the Bill's introduction. Responding to the Opposition, BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht said public turnout and support for the Bill demonstrated its urgency and relevance. Parent protests While the Assembly debated the Bill, some parent groups held protests and submitted their recommendations to Mr. Sood. One key demand of the protesters was that any parent, not just 15% of them, should be allowed to raise an issue with the district-level committee. On fee-related clauses, parents objected to subjective criteria such as the school's location and educational standard. They demanded a uniform fee structure and standardised fee heads across all schools to avoid ambiguity. 'False narratives' The Education Minister's office said he had met parents ahead of the Assembly debate and dismissed AAP's criticism as 'false narratives'. He clarified that the Bill supplements the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, by introducing stronger checks and balances to protect students and parents. The Minister assured that the Bill provides for three layers of oversight and includes penalties for violations.
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
President of wealthy Switzerland rushes to Washington to try to avert steep US tariffs
GENEVA — After weeks of working with U.S. officials to try to avoid hefty tariffs on Swiss goods, negotiators from Switzerland got assurances that a deal was all but done. Swiss businesses vowed to pour tens of billions in investment in the United States in the coming years. Still, President Donald Trump said no to any special deal. Now a scramble is underway ahead of Thursday, the deadline for when the whopping 39% tariff on Swiss products announced last week goes into effect. Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter and other top officials traveled to Washington on Tuesday to try to convince Trump that the measure — among the highest from the Trump administration — was too much and could cut profits for famed Swiss industries like chocolates and watchmaking. The new rate is over 2 1/2 times higher than the one on European Union goods exported to the U.S. and nearly four times higher than on British exports to the U.S. — raising questions about Switzerland's ability to compete with the 27-member bloc that it neighbors. Under the U.S. announcements from last Friday, the export duties imposed on Swiss companies will now only be surpassed by those on firms from Laos, Myanmar and Syria, which are facing 40-41% rates. Switzerland's case is a lesson in do's and don'ts of doing business with Trump. The thinking goes, if a rich country with economic might that excels in technology, pharmaceuticals and finance can't convince the U.S. president to scale back the high tariffs, who can? Trump himself seems to be focused on a single, high number: Switzerland's trade surplus in goods with the U.S. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump alluded to a recent call he had with Keller-Sutter, saying 'the woman was nice, but she didn't want to listen' and that he had told her: 'We have a $41 billion deficit with you, Madame.' It was not immediately clear where that $41 billion figure came from. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. ran a $38.3 billion trade imbalance on goods last year with Switzerland. That figure excludes exports of services. Keller-Sutter, who also serves as Switzerland's finance minister, has faced criticism in Swiss media over the last-ditch call with Trump before a U.S. deadline on tariffs expired Aug. 1, which some say appeared to make things worse. The 39% rate is even higher than the 31% on Swiss goods announced on Trump's 'Liberation Day' in early April — before the Swiss started negotiating with U.S. officials. The new figure took many Swiss business leaders by surprise. 'It's hard to negotiate when you're dealing with someone as unpredictable as Donald Trump,' said Ivan Slatkine, head of the Federation of Romandie Enterprises, which groups companies in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. 'We had a government that gave the impression the deal was done, it only awaited a signature from the president,' Slatkine told The Associated Press over the phone. 'We have the impression that we were punished, but we don't know why.' The United States is Switzerland's second-biggest trading partner after the EU, which nearly surrounds the Alpine country of more than 9 million. The Swiss government said Tuesday's trip was meant to 'facilitate meetings with the U.S. authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.' Swiss officials have argued that American goods face virtually zero tariffs in Switzerland, and the Swiss government says the wealthy Alpine country is the sixth-biggest foreign investor in the U.S. and the leading investor in research and development. Switzerland's powerful pharmaceutical industry — which promised tens of billions of investments in the U.S. in recent months amid the tariff worries — is exempt from the 39% rate. But Slatkine said the steep tariff level could be aimed to send Switzerland's Big Pharma — epitomized by Roche and Novartis — a message that it too could come under pressure. The trip comes a day after Switzerland's executive branch, the Federal Council, held an extraordinary meeting and said it was 'keen to pursue talks with the United States on the tariff situation,' according to a government statement. After consulting with Swiss businesses, the council said it had developed 'new approaches for its discussions' with U.S. officials and was looking ahead to continued negotiations. "Switzerland enters this new phase ready to present a more attractive offer, taking U.S. concerns into account and seeking to ease the current tariff situation," the council said. According to figures published by the Swiss Embassy in Washington, the U.S. has been Switzerland's most important goods export market since 2021, while Switzerland is the fourth most important export market for U.S. services — not goods. The bilateral trade volume in goods and services between Switzerland and the U.S. reached a total of $185.9 billion in 2023, the embassy says on its website. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
