'We tolerated Nitish Kumar's Hindi push for cordiality in INDIA bloc,' says DMK leader TR Baalu
Chennai, Jan 28: JD(U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said 'only Hindi should be spoken' and the party tolerated it for the sake of cordiality in INDIA alliance, DMK leader T R Baalu said here on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters after holding seat sharing talks with Congress leaders here, Baalu, when asked on the exit of Nitish Kumar from the INDIA alliance said it appeared that right from the beginning he had 'some issues' and there would not be any electoral 'damage' due to his move.
To a question about the 'Bihar Chief Minister's statement that nothing worked as per his plan in the INDIA bloc,' Baalu asked: "What did he plan? He did not spell out any plan, he said only Hindi should be spoken and only that (message) remains."
Elaborating, Baalu, a DMK Lok Sabha member and leader of the Parliamentary party said: "He (Nitish Kumar) said everyone should talk in Hindi. We tolerated it. Even then, we kept quiet, as a compromise, for the sake of cordiality in the alliance. It was said that English must not be spoken. This is an ordinary matter (hinting at politics). It is okay."
The DMK leader's reference made was to one of the INDIA bloc meetings in which Nitish Kumar reportedly stressed on use of Hindi.
DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi asked: "What is the guarantee that Nitish Kumar will continue with the BJP alliance till the Parliament election? Let us wait and see." Dubbing Nitish Kumar as 'fickle minded,' Bharathi said the Bihar Chief Minister's image has 'gone down' among the people.
It was not Nitish Kumar, but DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who first initiated efforts for bringing together Opposition parties at the national level to take on the BJP, Bharathi told reporters.
The INDIA bloc's 'success' in clinching a poll deal in Uttar Pradesh (with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party), the biggest state in the country, will be replicated in other parts of the nation, the DMK leader expressed confidence.
DMK spokesperson J Constandine Ravindran said Nitish Kumar's exit from the INDIA bloc is a "loss" for the BJP and a "gain" for the opposition alliance.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
