Congress slams PM Modi for taking dig at opposition alliance; says he has started 'hating India'
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday over his remarks targeting the opposition alliance, with Rahul Gandhi saying "call us whatever you want", but "we are INDIA" and will rebuild the idea of India in Manipur.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said while "we are talking about Manipur, which is burning", the prime minister is "talking about East India (Company) and saying INDIA means East India (Company)".
Later, in a tweet in Hindi, Kharge said, "While we are talking about Manipur, the prime minister, outside the House, is calling 'INDIA' as 'East India Company'. The Congress party has always been with 'Mother India' i.e. 'Bharat Mata'." "The slaves of the British were the political ancestors of the BJP. Prime Minister Modi, stop diverting the country's attention with your rhetoric. Narendra Modiji, speak about Manipur in Parliament, do not belittle the dignity of the prime minister's post by calling INDIA, that is Bharat, good or bad," the Congress president said.
In a video released by the Congress, Kharge said, "Why is he (Modi) rattled by the name of our alliance INDIA, if he thinks there is nothing in a name? This means that with the opposition meetings being held successfully in Patna and in Bengaluru, they (BJP) are getting rattled and scared. They are saying all this in their fear and recalling East India Company and Indian Mujahideen." "They are aligned with the ideology that helped the East India Company and the British. They did not participate in the Quit India movement and the freedom movement. And the people of the ideology that killed (Mahatma) Gandhiji are telling us that we are directionless. We are not directionless, we show the way. Prime Minister Modi has become directionless," he added.
Kharge urged Modi to speak on Manipur and said that is why "we have called for a debate under Rule 267, in which voting can also take place".
"What is happening in Manipur cannot be compared with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh or any other state. Those are incidents in which quick action can be taken by the state governments. In Manipur, the entire state is burning.... And now, Meghalaya and Mizoram have also started to burn," the Congress chief said.
Modi slammed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the most directionless the country has ever seen and cited reviled names, such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the prime minister told a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that the conduct of the opposition has been such that as if it has decided to stay in the opposition for long.
Hitting back at Modi, Gandhi tweeted: "Call us whatever you want, Mr Modi. We are INDIA. We will help heal Manipur and wipe the tears of every woman and child. We will bring back love and peace for all her people." "We will rebuild the idea of India in Manipur," the former Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also hit out at the prime minister and asked why was there so much of negativity.
"The spirit of the Constitution is at the core of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Employment for the country's youngsters, relief to the public from inflation, prosperity of every section, welfare of farmers-labourers, security and help to women, unity, love and peace in the country is a positive agenda," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Due to politics, you have adopted a negative and derogatory attitude towards INDIA. Repeatedly associating negative connotations with the name of the country is not fair to the dignity of your post," she said.
The people of the country do not want negative but positive politics, she added.
"The country wants to hear from you on Manipur in Parliament. The country wants answers on inflation and unemployment," Priyanka Gandhi asserted.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that it is clear that the prime minister is "very rattled by the 26-party INDIA".
"Not only is he trying to give new life to the almost-dead NDA but has also given it a new meaning through his vile abuses this morning -- the National Defamation Alliance. When he is cornered, this is what Mr Modi does all the time -- deny, divert, distort, deflect and defame," Ramesh said in a tweet.
Slamming Modi, the Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said in a tweet in Hindi: "Modiji, you have become so blind in opposing the Congress that you have started hating India itself. I heard that today in frustration you attacked India itself."
Tagging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad's remarks elaborating on what the prime minister said at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, Khera said, "Article 1 -- India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of states." Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also attacked Modi for his remarks, saying while cursing the opposition, the prime minister "has started calling India good or bad?" "One thing is clear -- you give instructions to your cheap troll army. The opposition is not misguided -- you are a victim of moral bankruptcy. Stop paying lip service, gather courage and speak on Manipur," Shrinate said in a tweet in Hindi.
With opposition parties rallying around the name "INDIA" for their alliance, the prime minister, at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, cited the history of several organisations, including certain banned extremist and terror outfits, using the country's name and panned the grouping as a collection of corrupt leaders and parties.
Even the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party, was named so by an Englishman, A O Hume, Modi said, according to sources.
Organisations that wanted to divide and rule the country have used names like "India" and "Indian" to mislead people, Modi added. People have now matured and will not be misled by such nomenclature, he asserted.
With the BJP accusing opposition parties of disrupting parliamentary proceedings, Modi said they have become more irresponsible, making it imperative for the ruling party to behave more responsibly.
The opposition has been demanding that Modi make a statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament before a debate on the matter can be taken up. With the opposition and treasury bench members not relenting, a logjam is prevailing in both houses.
More than 160 people have lost their lives and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3.
.@narendramodi जी,
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 25, 2023
आपको North East पर Act EAST Policy नहीं दिख रही, पर आपको EAST India Company दिख रही है !
इस INDIA ने ही अंग्रेज़ों की East India Company को हराया था।
इस INDIA ने ही Indian Mujahideen को भी हराया था।
आप मणिपुर में हो रही बर्बरता व भयावह हिंसा पर संसद में कब… pic.twitter.com/BKN9IlsMZ4
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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.
