During SP rule in UP, power supply uninterrupted on Ramzan not on Janmashtami: Amit Shah
Maharajganj/Ballia (UP), May 29: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday slammed the Samajwadi Party over "power shortages" during its term in Uttar Pradesh, and said the supply was uninterrupted during Ramzan but not on Janmashtami.
Addressing poll rallies in the state, Shah said this Lok Sabha election presents a choice between those who constructed the Ram temple and those who opened fire at Ram bhakts.
The home minister addressed four rallies -- first at Maharajganj, then Deoria, Ballia and Robertsganj -- canvassing for BJP and NDA candidates who are in the fray in the last and the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1.
Speaking at his rally in Ballia -- where the BJP denied a ticket to sitting MP Virendra Singh Mast in favour of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar's son Neeraj Shekhar -- Shah launched a broadside against Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, alleging mafia used to harass people during its rule.
"When the BJP came to power, Yogi Adityanath was made chief minister and he fixed the mafias," Shah said.
Uttar Pradesh also faced electricity woes during the SP government, he said.
"There was power supply only for three-four hours. There was uninterrupted supply during Ramzan but not on Janmashtami. (Ramzan me toh puri aati thi, magar Janmashtami ke din nhin aati thi. After the BJP come to power, our Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ensured 18-hour power supply," She said.
At his poll meeting in Deoria in support of BJP candidate Shashank Mani Tripathi, Shah accused the opposition of stalling the construction of the Ram Mandir for over 70 years and said the temple could only be built because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This election is between those who constructed the Ram temple and those who opened fire on Ram bhakts," he said, referring to the firing at kar sevaks in 1990 when the late Mulayam Singh Yadav was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
At his Maharajganj rally also, Shah took a jibe at INDIA bloc allies Samajwadi Party and the Congress, saying they have already decided to blame Electronic Voting Machines for their defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
"The counting is on June 4. In the afternoon the two 'shehzade' (Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav) will hold a press conference and say we lost the election because EVM was defective," he said.
"Modi has crossed 310 seats in five rounds of polls. Rahul baba you will not get even 40 seats and the other 'shehzade' (Akhilesh Yadav) will just get four seats," he said at the rally in support of party candidate Pankaj Chaudhary.
The Congress won 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections while the Samajwadi Party (SP) just five.
The opposition does not have a PM candidate and they say they will have five PMs in five years, Shah said. "This is not a general store but a nation of 130 crore people. Can such a PM work?"
Targeting the opposition, he said Congress leaders assert that Pakistan has an atom bomb but the BJP is "not scared of atom bombs".
"Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is and will remain a part of India. And we will take it back," he asserted.
Referring to the Sahara 'scam', Shah claimed it occurred when the parties that are currently in opposition were in power. "Akhilesh Yadav, the scam took place in your government! Modi ji started the process of refund (to the customers impacted by the Sahara 'scam'," he said.
Sahara group firms were accused of circumventing regulations with Ponzi schemes. The group has denied the charges.
The senior BJP leader also accused the previous governments of shutting down sugar mills and promised that a new mega sugar mill will be constructed in Maharajganj if the BJP comes to power again.
At the rally in Deoria, Shah claimed there were rampant terrorist attacks during the Congress government. "When Narendra Modi came to power, we conducted surgical strike and air strike and hit Pakistan in their home and ended terrorism."
He accused the opposition parties of trying to end reservation for SC/ST/OBC in order to appease their vote bank.
"I want to give a 'Modi guarantee', no one can lay hands on the reservation of SC/ST and OBC till even a single MP of BJP is in Parliament. These people have reduced the reservation of backward classes for appeasement politics," he said.
He praised Aditayanth for his focus on cleanliness and decisive action against mafias. "Yogi ji has cleared mosquitoes with his cleanliness drive and the mafia in his own 'style'."
At his Robertsganj rally, Shah alleged that in 1989, the SP government ordered firing on tribals who were protesting against a cement factory there.
"Make Modi the prime minister and all the tribals will get 'Van Adhikar Patta' (rights of the use of forests). People associated with the SP have snatched the rights of tribals by illegal mining.
"Modi has reserved a part of the minerals extracted from here for tribals by creating a District Mineral Fund. The BJP has also completed the Kanhar project and provided water to the fields of tribals," he said.
"This entire area is at the border of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It was affected by Naxalism. The Modi government has ended Naxalism. Six-seven years ago, it was very difficult to get drinking water in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra... in three years, the BJP is going to complete the work of providing tap water to the houses."
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Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz if US lifts its blockade and the war ends: officials
Cairo (AP): Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
The strait's closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertilizer, food and other basic goods.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran's proposal.
It came as Iran's foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It's unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Strait of Hormuz remains blocked
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Iran's ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.
Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely transit through the strait and reach global distribution points.
On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $108 per barrel, nearly 50 per cent higher than when the war began.
Iranian foreign minister holds talks as negotiations with US stall
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Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted fighting. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now,” Araghchi said in a video interview posted by IRNA.
It comes as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend. Instead, Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.
Over the weekend, Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Trump says Iran has offered a much better proposal
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Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.
He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
