'Modi lost credibility, must resign': Mamata Banerjee on Lok Sabha poll results
Kolkata, Jun 4: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately resign "accepting moral defeat" because he campaigned in the Lok Sabha polls claiming that the BJP would win over 400 seats but in reality, it failed to get a majority on its own.
Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said she would try to ensure that Modi is out of power from the Centre, and the "INDIA bloc is in".
"PM Modi has lost all credibility, he should immediately resign. India has won, Modi has lost. The PM broke many parties and now people have broken his morale. Modi is now falling at the feet of TDP and Nitish (Kumar) to form the government," she said.
Even in Varanasi, Modi suffered initial jitters, while the BJP lost in Ayodhya despite building the Ram Temple which shows people have rejected his religion-based politics, Banerjee claimed.
She said the saffron party failed to gain the majority on its own.
"In a brute show of autocracy, they (BJP) suspended 147 opposition MPs in Parliament. Now they cannot repeat such attempts any more as they will face a vocal INDIA bloc in the parliament now," she added.
"Atrocities and misuse of central agencies stand defeated today. We will not spare the BJP, which used to intimidate us using central agencies and the two-thirds majority in Parliament. Neither will we forgive them, nor will the other parties of the INDIA bloc," the TMC boss added.
To a question, she said she wants the Centre to release funds due to West Bengal and stop harassing people through ED and CBI.
She said her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary, would join the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday but lamented that her party has not been informed about it yet.
"They (BJP) are now praying to Nitish (Kumar) and TDP. But as much as I know them, they will not listen to BJP's machinations," she said.
"I have texted Rahul (congratulating him), maybe they were busy. They haven't contacted us yet, but it doesn't matter if they do or they don't," she said.
Banerjee said she had spoken to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and congratulated NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray.
She said that Modi has insulted Bengal and the women of the state by constantly harping on the "false allegations" of atrocities of women in Sandeshkhali,
Banerjee said "I can never pardon this BJP led by Modi and Amit Shah. There are good elements in RSS and BJP, I had good ties with Atalji (Atal Behari Vajpayee). Till the time I am alive, I won't tolerate Bengal's defamation by BJP leaders like Modi."
Banerjee said she will soon file a defamation suit against the falsehood and personal attacks made by BJP leaders and some others who want to defame Bengal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah should quit on moral ground after making "so many false claims and projections about Bengal", she said.
A "traitor in BJP camp" has controlled the election process in West Bengal, Banerjee claimed.
She alleged that the scrapping of jobs of 26,000 teachers and the cancellation of over one lakh OBC certificates showed the sinister gameplan of the BJP to conspire against Bengal.
Banerjee congratulated the people of state for TMC's superlative show in the Lok Sabha polls fighting negative and false propaganda by BJP and a section of the media.
"People are the real man of the match today," she said.
Banerjee claimed that the exit poll results were fake and manufactured by the BJP.
The TMC chief alleged that the EC acted at the behest of the BJP.
On the INDIA bloc, she said, "I had offered them a few seats. I was ready to make adjustments for the cause of INDIA. However, due to the arrogance of some leaders, that did not happen. Anyway, we will be attending the INDIA bloc meeting and putting up a united fight against BJP. We are happy that INDIA won and BJP lost."
Banerjee accused Modi and Amit Shah of threatening her party leaders of arrests and raids and even offering them money.
Banerjee said "I am offering support to all my INDIA bloc members. Let's fight BJP together. BJP only knows to offer money to divide but we will not allow them to implement their plan."
Pledging support to jailed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, she said when she will visit Delhi next time "I will meet his wife."
Asked about the defeat of state Congress chief Adhir Choudhury at the hands of TMC candidate Yusuf Pathan, she said, "He (Chowdhury) is a BJP man. People have spurned his arrogance"
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
