Iran sanctions: India in touch with all stakeholders
New Delhi, Sep 20 : Following fresh US sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme that puts the strategic Chabahar port in jeopardy and calls for a complete stop to all Iranian oil exports, India is in touch with all stakeholders in the matter, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.
"We are very closely monitoring the developments and assessing their implications," ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a media briefing here.
"We are in touch with all stakeholders in the matter," Kumar said.
The sanctions on Tehran that will come into effect in November have jeopardised the Chabahar port project in Iran, being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.
The port facilitates access to Afghanistan by bypassing Pakistan and is also a vital link in the International North-South Transport Corridor.
"Chabahar is a very important project for us not only for access to Afghanistan and Central Asia but also for Afghanistan itself for our own developmental assistance and developmental programmes in Afghanistan," Kumar said.
He said that the matter figured in the discussions during the first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi on September 6 in which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis participated.
"I can say that these discussions have led to a better understanding by the US of our objectives, concerns, sensitivities and expectations," the spokesperson said.
Also, with the new US fresh sanctions, there have been concerns in New Delhi as India is heavily reliant on Iran for crude oil imports.
"We, of course, will continue to work with the United States and other stakeholders to ensure our energy security and also our national interests," Kumar said.
Earlier this month, briefing the media about the 2+2 Dialogue, a senior US State Department official said that there has been expert-level discussions between India and the US on issues related to crude oil exports from Iran and ways to bring those exports down.
Stating that these conversations are ongoing, Principal Deputy Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Alice Wells said: "We are working very hard with our partners so that there are no disruptions in the market and adequate supply is available to substitute for Iranian oil."
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“Full prepared..going to win,” Congress MP KC Venugopal ahead of Kerala polls
EC not functioning as a neutral institution: Venugopal
Congress MP K. C. Venugopal on Monday raised concerns over the election schedule announced by the Election Commission of India for the upcoming Kerala Assembly election, questioning the timing of the poll dates and alleging that the schedule leaves limited time for campaigning.
Speaking to news agency ANI in Delhi after the poll panel announced elections in five states and Union Territories, Venugopal said that the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are fully prepared for the elections and confident of victory. At the same time, he questioned the pattern of dates announced by the Election Commission.
“We are fully prepared, we are going to win the elections... You can see how the Election Commission has set the dates. The first phase of elections is on the 9th, nominations are due until the 23rd, scrutiny is on the 24th, nominations can be withdrawn until the 26th, and after that, there are 11 days for campaigning,” he said.
“As for Kerala, there is Easter and Good Friday in the first week...The Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier... The counting date is on May 4th, so what was the point of holding elections in Kerala so early? What is their intention behind holding elections on the same day in Kerala, Puducherry, and Assam?... We are confident that we will win, but the people of the country are seeing the biased attitude of the Election Commission...,” he added.
He further stated that his party was ready for elections irrespective of the dates announced by the poll body.
“We are going to win the election. India's strategy has been set up. And we are all ready for winning this election. But one thing as far as declaring election, even though they are giving only for five days, we are going to win the election. We have no problem,” he said.
Detailing the poll schedule while questioning the time available for campaigning, he stated, “but you can see the pattern of date which the election commission announced. Yesterday they declared election, and today they notified us. The first phase of election on April 9th, filing of nomination will be over on the 23rd of this month, 24th scrutiny, 26th withdrawal of nomination. After 26, four plus seven, 11 days campaign.”
“As far as Kerala is concerned, April first week is a holy week. The holiday week means, Good Friday is there. Nobody will do anything on Good Friday. Easter is the big festival. These festivals are natural, you have to see that. Among the 11 days, working days, two, three days will go for holidays. Then hardly seven, eight days for campaigning in this election for candidates,” the Congress MP questioned.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission could have announced the dates earlier if there was a need for an early election schedule.
Questioning the urgency behind placing Kerala in the first phase of polling, he added that the counting date is much later.
“Which is the date of counting? Fourth May. Then what is the urgency of putting Kerala in the first phase without giving sufficient time for candidates? And putting Kerala, Puducherry, Assam together, what is the intention behind that?” Venugopal questioned.
He also alleged that the Election Commission was not functioning as a neutral institution.
“The Election commission is completely losing that capacity as a neutral player. You can see 14 of our prime minister's programs over and on the 15th they announce the election, 16th notification comes,” he said.
Venugopal further stated that such tactics would not affect the Congress’ prospects in the election.
“They think that this type of techniques and tactics, because of these techniques and tactics, UDF is going to lose, and Congress is going to lose. This is their complete dream only. This is not going to happen. We are very much confident at any cost, whether they are not giving any time also, we are going to win the election,” he said.
“But the people of India are watching this. The tricks of the election commission. To restrict the campaign, people of India are watching. This I want to bring into the notice of the nation. That's all,” Venugopal said.
The Election Commission of India on Sunday announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly election. Polling in the state will be held in a single phase on April 9 while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
