Rahul Gandhi to launch 'Vote Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar on Aug 17
Patna (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Sunday launch a yatra to highlight the alleged assault on the people’s right to vote through the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, a senior party leader said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference here, former state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is likely to be in the state for over a fortnight till the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ concludes with a rally in Patna on September 1.
“Tomorrow, Gandhi will launch the yatra from Sasaram. All the necessary permission has been obtained from the authorities concerned. The yatra will build a tempo in favour of the INDIA bloc ahead of the assembly polls,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Replying to a query, he said Gandhi was likely to “stay in Bihar for nearly 15 days” to lead the yatra, which will cover “25 districts of the state” with three “break days” on August 20, 25 and 31.
“At Sasaram, Rahul Gandhi is likely to be joined by Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, besides our other alliance partners, including three Left parties. For the final rally in Patna on September 1, we will try to bring leaders of as many like-minded parties as possible,” Singh said.
“We have been left with no option, but to hit the streets. Our pleas for a discussion on the sensitive issue in Parliament have fallen on deaf ears. The behaviour of the Election Commission reminds us of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s warning that the Constitution faced the greatest threat from those who were either stupid or cunning,” he said.
All parties, including NDA partners like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, have voiced concerns over the special intensive revision, as part of which names of “lakhs of people have been deleted from the electoral rolls”, Singh asserted.
“Only two parties, the BJP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), have not spoken a word on the issue. In any case, the government headed by Kumar, who has an alliance with the BJP, is all set to be voted out in the upcoming elections. The people of the state are fed up with the current regime,” he claimed.
Asked about Union minister Giriraj Singh’s fulminations against the proposed yatra of Gandhi, the Congress leader replied with a chuckle: “Yesterday, he and I came here from Delhi by the same plane. He was very much sharing our concerns about special intensive revision. But, in public, he has to toe the party line.”
Meanwhile, the RJD launched a two-and-a-half-minute song, with lyrics in a mix of Hindi and Bhojpuri, in a bid to project the key role Tejashwi Yadav is expected to play in the yatra.
In the video of the song, Yadav is seen sharing the space with Gandhi, and hailed as a leader who was vigilant and willing to rouse the people, and ensure “nobody’s right to vote is snatched and the spirit of freedom is never lost”.
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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.
