Ready to seek support from BJP top brass if it allows me to do so: INDIA bloc VP candidate
Ranchi (PTI): Opposition vice-president nominee B Sudershan Reddy on Saturday sought support for his candidature from all members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on merit, irrespective of party lines, asserting that he was ready to meet the BJP top brass if it allows so.
Emphasising that he wanted this election to be one of the most decent and fair polls ever witnessed by India in recent years, Reddy also questioned the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, contending that being in majority does not empower anyone to do whatever it wishes.
"I have sent letters to all members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to consider my candidature on merit, and I am ready to meet and seek support from BJP's top brass if it allows me to do so," he told a press conference here.
Criticising the SIR, Reddy wondered what the “intensive exclusion” was as part of the exercise.
"What is this SIR... It is a new trouble... There can be a special revision... Nobody disputes that electoral rolls should be updated and the names of those who are not amongst us should be struck out, but what is this intensive exclusion... Democracy doesn't mean simply votes; being in majority does not give power to do anything," he said.
Reddy also alleged violations of the provisions of the Constitution, which he said was like the ‘Triveni Sangam’ (confluence of three rivers), and that one should know its history, text and structure.
The Constitution speaks about equality and justice – social, economic, and political – and upholds two important values of fraternity and dignity of an individual, he said.
Reddy also hit out at the Centre, alleging that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was tortured and his dignity crushed. “Elected representatives are repositories of people’s faith and trust. What happened to the faith and trust reposed in Hemant Soren and his cabinet colleagues when he was incarcerated for no valid reason?” he asked.
The INDIA bloc vice-president nominee said “constitutional functionaries involved in framing the Jharkhand CM are responsible for violating his dignity... they should take responsibility for infringing his dignity conferred on him like any other citizen by the Constitution”.
The CM was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last year in connection with its investigation into a money laundering case linked to illegal possession of 8.36 acres of land.
He had been summoned multiple times by the ED before he was questioned at his residence, and subsequently arrested on January 31, 2024.
Soren was released on June 28 last year, after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail in the money laundering case, observing that he was not guilty, and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail.
In a post on X, Soren on Saturday evening extended best wishes to Reddy for the vice-presidential election.
“Today, in Ranchi, we met the INDIA alliance's candidate for the vice-presidential position, the honourable former Supreme Court Justice, the esteemed Shri Balakrishna Sudershan Reddy Ji. Congratulations, best wishes, and greetings to you for the upcoming vice-presidential election. The protection of democratic and constitutional values is paramount,” he said.
In another post, Jharkhand Congress in-charge K Raju added: “Today, in Ranchi, I met with the Honourable Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri @HemantSorenJMM, along with the INDIA alliance candidate for the vice-presidential post, Honourable Justice (Retd) Balakrishna Sudershan Reddy Ji, and participated in a joint press conference. CM Hemant Soren Ji extended his support, congratulations and best wishes to him for the protection of democratic and constitutional values.”
Reddy remarked that the vice-presidential election is not about victory or defeat, but “a fight for principles”, and said he has support from INDIA bloc MPs.
He also voiced concern over what he termed as the "new challenges facing democracy".
Reddy criticised political parties for overstepping constitutional limits once in power, and warned against “new commentary and new narratives” that undermine democratic institutions.
“There is no provision for a whip in this election,” he said.
Reddy also extended condolences to Soren on the demise of his father Shibu Soren, saying the JMM founder devoted his entire life for the people, and achieved the ambition of carving out a separate state that stands as Jharkhand because of his tireless efforts.
The stage is set for a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate Reddy for the September 9 vice-presidential election, in what is being described as a "south versus south" battle as both hail from south India.
While Radhakrishnan is a BJP veteran from Tamil Nadu, Reddy is a former Supreme Court judge who hails from Telangana.
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Malian defence minister killed in attack that saw jihadis and rebels seize towns, military bases
Dakar (AP): Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media.
Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State group-aligned militants have been fighting the government for over a decade.
Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal after the attacks, the rebels said Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a separatist group, said the Russian Africa Corps troops and the Malian military withdrew from the city after an agreement was reached for their peaceful exit.
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier statement said they were “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
It was the first time the separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northern Mali.
“This operation is being carried out in partnership with the JNIM, which is also committed to defending the people against the military regime in Bamako,” Ramadan said.
Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank, said that the coordination between the two groups, as well as the explicit call for the Russian military to leave, is new.
“The coordination, conducting attacks all over the country at the same time, real coordination on the military level but also on the political level because both claims of both groups they acknowledged that they worked together, this is a first,” said Nasr.
Mali government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the attacks and called on “all states, security forces, regional mechanisms and populations of West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat this scourge.”
The separatists called on Russia to “reconsider its support for the military junta in Bamako, whose actions have contributed to the suffering of the civilian population.”
Following military coups, the juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako's airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said that while the attacks were a major blow to the credibility of Mali's Russian partners, JNIM is unlikely to take control of Bamako in the near term due to opposition from the local population.
“The attacks are a major blow to Russia as the mercenaries had no intelligence about the attacks and were unable to protect major cities. They have unnecessarily worsened the conflict by not distinguishing between civilians and combatants,” Laessing said.
