BJP, DMK spar over Dayanidhi Maran's remark made months ago on Bihar workers
Chennai (PTI): A video clip of an alleged derogatory remark made months ago by DMK Lok Sabha MP Dayanidhi Maran on workers hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar was widely circulated on social media on Sunday which led to a war of words between the Saffron party and Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravidian party.
Study of both Tamil and English had been championed by his party all along and the people of Tamil Nadu followed it, Maran had said addressing an event in March this year.
Citing the example of Sundar Pichai, a native of Tamil Nadu, Maran said he now heads Google and had he learnt Hindi, he would have been employed in the construction sector as a worker.
Since children from Tamil Nadu get educated and learn English well, they find employment in the Information Technology sector and earn good salaries.
In the video clip, Maran purportedly said that people in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had learnt 'only Hindi,' construct houses, clean roads and toilets in Tamil Nadu, after learning Tamil. "This is the scenario if Hindi is learnt."
The video clip showing Maran's alleged remark resurfaced on social media and the BJP said that the DMK MP's comment is very objectionable and has derogatory references to Hindi speaking people. The reason for the matter cropping up now is not clear and it could not be ascertained immediately.
In a post on X, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that this has become a habit of the DMK 'for sure'. Many leaders one after the other make such comments and earlier they attacked Sanatan Dharma too. Further, he said: "But the reason why Congress party and other parties of INDIA alliance are not saying anything is because, perhaps, they are all in it together."
Tamil Nadu BJP Vice-president Naryananan Thirupathy said, though it was an old remark, it shows the 'true colours' of DMK leaders who use abusive, and derogatory language against north Indians.
"It is not a matter of surprise at all. It is happening now, in the present. It has also happened in the past. The DMK will continue it in the future as well," he said.
DMK spokesperson J Constandine Ravindran condemned BJP functionaries for deliberately spreading 'falsehood.' He told PTI: "DMK is fully committed to an egalitarian society. No particular state like Tamil Nadu is superior. No other state like Uttar Pradesh or Bihar is inferior. The mala fide intent of the BJP people is evident as they are claiming something that Dayanidhi Maran never said or meant."
The substance of Dayanidhi Maran's speech is all about opportunities available to a person, when she or he, in addition to mother tongue, also learnt the English language well, he said.
Career opportunities that open up to a person with an English language background are more, not only in India but also elsewhere in the world and this is the crux of Maran's remarks made months ago, Ravindran added.
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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.
