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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
‘What if Indians boycott American firms': AAP MP's firm open letter to Donald Trump over 50% tariffs
AAP Rajya Sabha MP and chancellor of Lovely Professional University, Ashok Kumar Mittal, wrote an open letter to US President Donald Trump on Thursday over the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on India. He cautioned that if Indians were to form a strategic restriction of American business, then there would be a far more "severe" impact on Washington. The LPU chancellor warned Trump that if Indians chose to form a strategic restriction of American business, then the impact would be far more severe on the US. (ANI) Posting his open letter on X, Mittal asked, "What if 146 crore Indians boycott American companies operating in India?" The Rajya Sabha MP termed Trump's move to raise India's tariff to 50 per cent due to the country's Russian oil purchase as "deeply disappointing". He also referred to the US President's "dead economy" remark and said that this very economy is the "4th largest in the world, soon to be third, and remains the fastest growing among major nations". Mittal highlighted that American companies generate more than $80 billion annually from the Indian market across various sectors, including tech, education, finance, and IP. He noted that the US digital economy runs on code, much of which, he added, "is written in India". "It is also telling that your close ally, the European Union, recorded over €67.5 billion in trade with Russia last year, including record LNG imports, even as it calls for others to scale back. What is more surprising is that the United States continues to quietly import uranium, palladium, as well as chemicals from Russia. Should a nation pressurise India against trade with Russia when it itself relies on the Kremlin for its domestic interests?" Mittal added. The AAP leader recalled that the Swadeshi Movement was launched in India on August 7, 1905, describing it as a powerful assertion of economic self-reliance against foreign control. "If 146 crore Indians were to channel that spirit today and initiate a strategic restriction of US businesses, the impact would be far more severe for the United States than for India," he added. Mittal said that while India has stood by the US so far because of its 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' spirit, the future now lies in the hands of those who understand that diplomacy and cooperation are the way forward, not reciprocal tariffs. "Mr President, let us choose dialogue over discord, coordination over coercion. Let us shape the future - through respect, resolve, and renewed commitment to a rules-based global order," Mittal concluded his letter to Trump. Several opposition leaders, including Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, have expressed discontent over the tariffs imposed on India by Trump. US President Donald Trump had initially announced a tariff of 25 per cent on India and an unspecified penalty for the country's purchases from Russia. On Wednesday, the White House announced that Trump was imposing an additional 25 per cent levy on Indian goods due to New Delhi's trade with Russia, taking the total tariffs to 50 per cent. India termed the US President's move to raise the tariffs as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". The ministry of external affairs said that India will take all the actions necessary to protect its national interests.
Time of India
02-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal brings resolution to designate Pak ‘state sponsor of terrorism'
Chandigarh: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal on Saturday tabled a resolution in the House to designate Pakistan as a 'state sponsor of terrorism'. The resolution was introduced as part of a parliamentary intervention during the ongoing monsoon session. In a press statement, Mittal said he recounted Pakistan's decades-long policy of using terrorism as a tool of foreign policy. Citing documented instances from the 1947 invasion of Jammu & Kashmir to the recent Pahalgam terror attack, the resolution called for sweeping measures, including diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, and a review of bilateral agreements like the Indus Water Treaty. The resolution further underscored Pakistan's direct role in key terror incidents that shook India, such as the 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 Mumbai attacks, 2016 Uri attack, and the 2019 Pulwama bombing, while also pointing to its global footprint in events like the 9/11 attacks and the 2015 Paris carnage. The resolution urged the govt of India to introduce legislation designating Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism and enforce a complete freeze on economic and trade relations. This also includes Pakistan's re-inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and further lobbying for their inclusion in the black list. MSID:: 123063295 413 | Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Determined to destroy education': AAP MP Sanjay Singh accuses UP government of prioritising alcohol; launches campaign over school closures
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh Aam Aadmi Party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath-led government over the state's educational infrastructure. He said it was shameful that in a state where millions of children study in government schools, thousands of these schools have either been shut down or are operating in unsafe and crumbling buildings, while liquor shops are rapidly increasing. "Yogi government is snatching books from children and handing them liquor bottles," said Sanjay. Citing official data, Singh said there are 1.93 lakh vacant teaching positions at the primary level in Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, 3,872 posts are unfilled in secondary education and 8,714 in senior secondary education. He said that even though the government acknowledges nearly two lakh vacant teacher posts, no serious recruitment plan has been announced. "Why is the Yogi government silent on over 2 lakh teacher vacancies?" he asked. In several districts, entire primary schools are being managed by just one teacher. In Prayagraj alone, 633 schools have been declared dangerous due to their poor structural condition. Singh alleged that the Yogi government has already shut down over 27,000 government schools and is preparing to close 5,000 more, citing low student attendance. He said this drop in enrollment is due to the government's failure to provide adequate teachers and basic infrastructure, pushing schools into decline. He criticised what he called the 'double engine government,' pointing out that while schools are being shut down, 27,308 liquor shops have been opened in the state, even though the government claims the treasury is empty. 'The government cares more about liquor outlets than education,' he said, adding that Uttar Pradesh spends only ₹9,167 per student annually on education, well below the national average of Rs 12,768. Singh claimed that the Yogi government does not want children of the poor, Dalits, backward classes, or farmers to receive an education and progress in life. He said schools are either being merged or left to decay. 'We will go village to village and tell people that the Yogi government is taking away books from children and giving them liquor bottles instead,' said Singh. 'Our campaign with the slogan 'We want schools, not liquor shops' will continue until every child in the state has access to a teacher, a school, and the right to education.' He warned that if the government does not begin recruiting teachers, repair dilapidated schools, and reopen the ones that were shut down, the Aam Aadmi Party will raise this issue strongly, from the streets to the Parliament, and expose the government at every level.
India Gazette
30-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Pakistan is not victim state, it's terror state": Raghav Chadha at 'Ideas for India Conference 2025' in London
London [UK], May 30 (ANI): AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said that Pakistan is not a victim state but a terror state and said that the global community that continues to provide aid to Pakistan enables violence, not peace. Raghav Chadha was speaking at the 'Ideas for India Conference 2025' in London. 'I called out Pakistan's decades-old terror machinery. Blood and water can't flow and loans can't go together. Diplomacy and duplicity of Pakistan can't go together. Terror and Tolerance can't exist together,' posted Raghav Chadha on X. Invited by the UK-based think tank Bridge India as a featured speaker alongside top Indian business leaders and policymakers, Raghav Chadha used the international stage to demand a decisive shift in global policy. 'Diplomacy fails with duplicity, and terror nullifies tolerance,' said Chadha. He warned the global community that continued aid to Pakistan enables violence, not peace. 'We offer a hand of friendship--but it can turn into a fist of retribution if provoked,' he said, making clear that India's patience is not limitless in the face of cross-border aggression. Addressing the conference, AAP MP Raghav Chadha stated, 'Very recently there was an unfortunate terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. It becomes very important that we highlight India's strategic autonomy in this multi-polar world. It is also reflected in the fact that in the aftermath of the most cowardly attack in Pahalgam where 26 civilians were butchered, India didn't go around town seeking consent to retaliate.' He emphasised, 'India told its worthy partners in the world that we are all for peace but don't mistake our peacefulness for our weakness. While we extend the hand of friendship, if someone indulges in misadventures, that hand of friendship can very quickly become the fist of retribution.' Raghav Chadha continued, 'As a result, India responded. India responded in a non-escalatory, precise, measured, calculated, swift response where cross-border strikes were made and terror infrastructure across the border, not civilians, not military bases, but terror infrastructure was brought down. I think this has become a new norm and this underscores the fact that today cross-border strikes and demolishing terror infrastructure in Pakistan is not the exception.' 'It will be the expectation if Pakistan indulges in sponsoring, aiding, abetting terrorism within India. India and Pakistan started their journey from the very same day in 1947 when the British left the united India. We started the journey from the very same day. And look, India today has become the fourth largest economy,' added the Rajya Sabha MP. He pointed out that Pakistan today is in economic turmoil and in an institutional crisis. 'India today is known to export software, to export education, to export agricultural products, dairy products, so on and so forth. Pakistan today is known to export only one thing, terrorism. India is investing in healthcare, education, science and technology, research and development,' he highlighted. Raghav Chadha stated, 'Pakistan is investing in only and only military and radicalization. I appeal to the first world countries and the IMF in particular, that we should, quite frankly, have a relook at the way we fund Pakistan. Why is the IMF giving bailouts to Pakistan one after another? Where is the money going? Is that money being invested in healthcare? Is that money being invested in education? Is that money being invested in infrastructure? That money is going to fund nefarious activities and designs of the regime.' He concluded by emphasising, 'I think it's high time that the world realizes that lies and loans cannot go together. Diplomacy and duplicity of Pakistan cannot go together. Blood and water cannot flow together and terror and tolerance cannot be together. I'm not even part of the government. I speak as a pretty vocal member of the opposition. And yet, as an Indian on foreign soil, I say what 1.4 billion Indians feel.' Participating in the special session titled 'India in a Multipolar World' at the Ideas for India Conference 2025, AAP MP Raghav Chadha laid out a compelling vision for India's growing strategic autonomy and its emergence as a crucial bridge between the Global North and South. Addressing an audience of global policymakers and business leaders. Chadha highlighted India's recent achievements -- including the success of Operation Sindoor -- and spoke on the country's advances in defence, diplomacy, and technology. He also underscored the vital role of India's youth in shaping the nation's future as a confident, globally engaged power. Earlier this month, AAP MP Raghav Chadha was also invited as a keynote speaker at the prestigious Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) 2025, held in Seoul, South Korea -- often referred to as the 'Davos of the East'. At the event, he strongly condemned the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam on a global stage. He lauded the Indian Army's courage during Operation Sindoor and emphasised that India no longer merely expresses sorrow over acts of terrorism but now responds with precise and decisive military action. Raghav Chadha affirmed India is the land of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violence, but it is also the land of revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose. India believes in peace -- but those who support terrorism will not be spared. Notably, Raghav Chadha was recently selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum--a distinction awarded to the world's most promising leaders under the age of 40, recognized for their contributions to shaping a better future. During the 'Ideas for India' conference, part of India Week 2025, organised by Bridge India, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao also said, 'Telangana is the state with the most ease of doing business in India as per govt of India and NITI Aayog.' 'Our leader KCR has chosen to disrupt the way we brought out laws and legislations. The first piece of legislation is TS-iPASS (Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System),' he added. (ANI)
NDTV
30-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
India's Response Non-Escalatory After Pahalgam Terror Attack: Raghav Chadha
New Delhi: Calling Operation Sindoor a "measured" and "non-escalatory" response to the Pahalgam terror attack, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said India's hand of friendship can transform into a "fist of retribution" if someone indulges in misadventure, according to a video clip shared by him on his X handle. He was speaking at the 'Ideas for India Conference 2025' in London, United Kingdom. "Very recently, there was an unfortunate incident in Pahalgam. It becomes very important that we highlight that India's strategic autonomy is also reflected in the fact that in the aftermath of the most cowardly attack of Pahalgam, where 26 civilians were butchered, India did not go around town seeking consent to retaliate," he added. India had carried out strikes on nine sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, marking its deepest strikes inside Pakistan in decades in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack on April 22. Thereafter, Pakistan attempted to unleash drones and missiles at Indian military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, many of them home to air force bases. "India told its worthy partners in the world that, look, we are all for peace, but do not mistake our peacefulness for our weakness. While we extend the hand of friendship, but if you indulge in misadventures, then that hand of friendship can become the fist of retribution," he said. As a result, India responded in a "non-escalatory", "precise", "measured", "calculated" and "swift" response where cross-border strikes were made and terror infrastructures across the border -- not civilians, not military bases -- were brought down, he shared. "At a global stage -- I say, Pakistan is not a victim state, it's a terror state. At the 'Ideas for India Conference 2025' in London, I called out Pakistan's decades-old terror machinery. Blood and water can't flow together. "Lies and loans can't go together. Diplomacy and duplicity of Pakistan can't go together. Terror and Tolerance can't exist together. India seeks peace - but if provoked, retribution won't be an EXCEPTION, it will be an EXPECTATION," he said. Earlier this month, COperation hadha was also invited as a keynote speaker at the prestigious Asian Leadership Conference (ALC) 2025, held in Seoul, South Korea. At the event, he strongly condemned the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack in Pahalgam on a global stage. He lauded the Indian Army's courage during Operation Sindoor and emphasised that India no longer merely expresses sorrow over acts of terrorism but now responds with precise and decisive military action.
