Ex-AAP MP Dharamvir Gandhi joins Congress
New Delhi, Apr 1: Former AAP MP from Punjab's Patiala Dharamvir Gandhi on Monday joined the Congress in the presence of senior party leaders here.
His joining comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi is likely to contest as a Congress candidate from the Patiala seat.
Gandhi, 72, said he felt privileged on joining the Congress as it was the only party that was fighting against communal polarisation and threat to the democracy and constitution in the country.
He won the Lok Sabha election as an AAP candidate in 2014 by defeating Preneet Kaur from Patiala.
Gandhi, who is a doctor by profession, later quit the AAP in 2016 and formed his own outfit Nawan Punjab Party, which he merged with the Congress on Monday.
Party leaders Pawan Khera and AICC in-charge for Punjab Devender Yadav, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and CLP leader Pratap Singh Bajwa welcomed Gandhi into the party fold.
Bajwa said the Congress will be strengthened with his joining while Warring said such professionals joining the the party is a good sign.
Welcoming the former AAP MP into the party, Yadav said Gandhi will prove to be a great asset for the party as he has huge social standing. He said Gandhi was attracted by the Congress ideals of secularism and its commitment to protect the constitution and democracy.
He pointed out that social and economic disparities in the country were growing day by day. He said his sole purpose was to serve the people and he realised that he could do it best with the Congress party, no matter in what capacity.
"I realised soon that the Aam Aadmi Party was not the party of my ideals. After Rahul Gandhi started his Bharat Jodo Yatra, I was impressed as these are not ordinary times and in such times one should stand with secular forces who raise people's issues and stand against religious polarisation," he said.
He added that he had gone to Kanyakumari and joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra there as well as in Punjab and Srinagar.
The former MP also said the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are not ordinary as it will decide the future of our country.
"I want to be seen in the right side of history in the coming elections and that is why I am with the Congress," he noted.
He said he is not in the Congress for any ticket or seat.
"I have a duty towards people. I would urge everyone who believe in pluralism and democracy, should join the Congress. In February 2015 I quit the party, I have nothing personal against AAP or Arvind Kejriwal," Gandhi said.
"I have no aspirations for electoral politics. I am in Congress for different, historical reasons. It has nothing to do with the Lok Sabha elections. If Congress feels I am right kind of person to defeat Preneet Kaur, I will defeat her. I will fight this war as it needs to be fought," the former MP added.
"The Congress does not need me but I need the Congress. Going by which way the country is moving towards in the wake of dictatorship, we have to fight against such forces," Gandhi said.
Several colleagues of his party including Rachhpal Singh Jauramajra, a prominent farmer leader, Harmeet Kaur Brar, Narinder Sandhu and others also joined the Congress along with him.
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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.
