Leaders of major opposition parties to meet after Karnataka elections: Congress sources
New Delhi(PTI): A meeting of top opposition leaders of around 19 parties for forging a joint front against the BJP will be held after the Karnataka assembly elections, Congress sources said on Monday.
The leaders were to meet up by the end of April earlier. Sources said the meeting has been delayed because of the May 10 Karnataka assembly elections.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to host the meeting sometime next month and has already spoken to leaders of several other parties in this regard, the sources said. There has been a flurry of meetings in the Opposition camp which has shown a sense of urgency in recent weeks for taking forward talks to put up a united front against the BJP.
On Monday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met his West Bengal counterpart and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, saying that efforts were on to bring on board as many opposition parties as possible.
Sources said Kharge is also likely to speak to Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee in the coming days.
Nitish Kumar had met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi earlier this month.
No welfare work is being done by the present dispensation which is only relying on publicity, the JD(U) leader said on Monday attacking the BJP after meeting Akhilesh Yadav at the SP office in Lucknow.
"I am not looking for any position for myself. My endeavour is to work for the country's good," Kumar, who was accompanied by RJD leader and Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, told reporters.
He alleged that efforts are being made to change the history of the country. Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of price rise and said there was a need to remove the BJP government without any delay.
The Bihar chief minister had come to Lucknow after meeting Banerjee in Kolkata earlier in the day.
Banerjee asked Nitish Kumar to set up a meeting of all opposition parties in Bihar to "prepare together" for the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
"I have made just one request to Nitish Kumar. Jayaprakash ji's movement started from Bihar.
"If we have an all-party meeting in Bihar, we can then decide where we have to go next," said Banerjee after the meeting, adding that the first meeting would be "gharoa" (informal) and issues like a common manifesto, etc. could come later.
Socialist leader Jayprakash Narayan, popularly called JP, launched his `Total Revolution' movement against alleged misrule and corruption in 1974 from Patna.
"I want the BJP to become zero. They have become a big hero with the media's support, lies and fake videos," she claimed.
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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.
