NDA’s VP pick not aligned with our ideology, told Fadnavis can't accept his support plea: Pawar
Mumbai (PTI): Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had called him up to seek support for NDA’s vice-presidential candidate CP Radhakrishnan, but he expressed his inability to accept the request.
Talking to reporters here, Pawar said the BJP-led NDA's candidate was not aligned with the ideology of his party and other members of the Opposition.
The Rajya Sabya MP, whose party is a constituent of Opposition bloc INDIA, pointed out that the coalition's candidate, B Sudarshan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, has already filed nomination for the September 9 poll.
“Opposition candidate Sudarshan Reddy has already filed his nomination. Even though we have fewer numbers than the NDA, we are not worried,” the NCP (SP) chief stated.
The former Union minister maintained the Opposition has unanimously decided to field Reddy as its candidate for the country’s second-highest constitutional office whose occupant is also the ex-officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
“All Opposition votes will go to Reddy. It knows its strength. We’re not expecting any surprises,” Pawar said.
“The NDA candidate is not aligned with our ideology. When he was the Jharkhand governor, a case was filed against Chief Minister Hemant Soren. When Soren went to meet the governor, he was arrested at Raj Bhavan.
“It was a glaring example of the misuse of power, and it is not appropriate to expect support for such a candidate. Therefore, I expressed my inability to accept the chief minister’s request,” Pawar said.
Fadnavis on Thursday sought the support of Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, another key figure in the INDIA bloc, for Radhakrishnan.
Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had said besides Fadnavis, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also called Thackeray, urging him to extend support to the NDA pick.
Meanwhile, the NCP (SP) questioned why Fadnavis had made phone calls to people whose party he was "responsible for breaking" to seek support in the Vice-Presidential election.
"On what moral grounds did Mr Devendra Fadnavis make phone calls to people whose party he was responsible for breaking? Mr Fadnavis had said, 'I not only came back (in power), but returned after breaking two parties'," NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said in statement.
The spokesperson was apparently referring to splits in the Shiv Sena (2022) and the NCP (2023).
Those who claim to be invincible seem to have once again lost their morality for the hunger of power, Crasto opined.
"Is Mr Fadnavis worried that the BJP and NDA will not garner enough votes to elect their Vice-Presidential candidate? Is he also worried that there will be cross-voting against their candidate?" the NCP (SP) spokesperson asked.
The NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) are part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra along with the Congress. The three parties are also constituents of the INDIA bloc at the national level.
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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.
