Third term of BJP-led NDA Govt will be a ‘guest for a while’: J&K Congress president
Jammu, Jun 5: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani on Wednesday said the third term of the BJP-led NDA government will be a "guest for a while" as “dictators do not take everyone along”.
He reiterated his party's demand for immediate restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding of assembly elections to restore democracy in the Union Territory.
“If NDA government comes to power for the third term, write down that it will be a guest for a while as dictators do not take everyone along. The BJP’s slogan of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas’ is untrue and it stands exposed for using central and state agencies like the ED, CBI and police against opposition leaders to put them in jail. (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal and (former Jharkhand chief minister) Hemant Soren are glaring examples,” Wani told reporters here.
He claimed that India has not seen such a "dictator" in its history and Congress, which ruled the country for most of the time, always respected opposition and the regional parties unlike the BJP which is using its strength and money power to bring down governments and break regional parties as was evident in Maharashtra.
“Dictators do not run a government for long… If anyone runs the country and brings economic prosperity and strengthens the military, it is Congress which believes in taking every section of the society along in true sense,” Wani said.
He said the first priority of the Congress is restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and safeguarding its culture, land and jobs besides holding assembly elections to hand over popular government to the people who are disappointed with the bureaucratic rule.
The Congress leader thanked the people who voted for INDIA bloc candidates in the Lok Sabha elections and said despite both Congress candidates losing against BJP rivals from Udhampur and Jammu parliamentary seats, the results showed the party getting nearly 10 lakh votes.
“We fought this election with our hands tied to our backs due to the freezing of our party accounts. There was no dearth of money with our rival party (BJP) and they utilized the money power to buy support. We are highly thankful to our workers who used their own resources and we put up a good fight in both the seats,” he said.
He said the Lok Sabha results showed that Congress is on revival mode, winning more than double seats compared to 2019 elections, dashing BJP’s dream of ‘Congress Mukt’ Bharat.
“All the promises made by BJP to the people of J-K proved false. The people are disappointed as inflation and unemployment have risen to the highest levels. If our government is formed at the centre, we will try to address all the issues concerning the public,” he said, adding Congress believed walking alongside the public was shown by Rahul Gandhi who took out two foot marches in the country to spread the message of love and stand against divisive politics.
He said Modi factor played in the win of both the BJP candidates in Udhampur and Jammu but “we are sure that the outcome of the assembly elections will be different and Congress will sweep the polls in Jammu province.”
On the victory of former MLA Engineer Rashid against former chief minister Omar Abdullah from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, Wani said he was not expecting such an outcome as “we together campaigned in the constituency as Abdullah’s National Conference is part of INDIA bloc.”
“Rashid is in jail for the last five years and a wave emerged in his favour. Now that he has won from the seat, we congratulate him,” he said, adding that many people voted in the constituency after decades.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
