Nomination of SP's Khajuraho candidate rejected; Akhilesh calls it murder of democracy
Panna (MP), Apr 5: In a jolt to the opposition's INDIA bloc in Madhya Pradesh, nomination of the Samajwadi Party's (SP) candidate from Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency, Meera Yadav, was on Friday rejected by the returning officer.
The development left the SP fuming with its chief Akhilesh Yadav terming it a "blatant murder" of democracy and demanding judicial probe.
Meera Yadav would challenge the rejection in the High Court, her husband Deep Narayan Yadav said.
Congress, the main opposition party in the BJP-ruled state, had left the Khajuraho seat for SP as per the seat-sharing arrangement within the INDIA bloc. Polling will be held for the seat in the second phase, on April 26.
The Panna district collector, who is also the election returning officer, rejected Meera Yadav's nomination as she had not signed the `B form' and also failed to attach a certified copy of the 2023 Assembly elections voters' list, a senior official said.
The BJP has fielded its state unit president and sitting MP Vishnu Dutt Sharma who is seeking a second term from Khajuraho.
Yadav's husband Deep Narayan told reporters that they would move the high court against the returning officer's order.
"The form was verified yesterday after scrutiny. There is a rule that if there is any discrepancy, it is the duty of the returning officer to get it rectified even if the candidate is illiterate," he said.
"Yesterday, the form was found to be alright. Today, two shortcomings were pointed out. First, the voters' list attached with the form is not certified or it is old. Signature was supposed to be made at two places, but it was made only in one place," he added.
Yadav also claimed that they did not get a certified copy of voters' list till April 3, and hence attached a copy that was available.
"We requested him (collector) that we still had time as we had come before (the deadline of) 3 pm, and it could be rectified. He should have told us yesterday about it and we could have done it by now," Yadav added.
To a question, he said there were 15 other candidates in the fray, and "we will support one of them after consulting our senior leaders." The election will be contested under any circumstances, he added.
Taking to X , SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted,|" The rejection of INDIA bloc's SP candidate from Khajuraho seat was a blatant murder of democracy.
"It is being said that it (nomination form) was not signed. Why the officer looking after |(such things) accepted the form. This is all just excuses and frustration of the defeated BJP," he stated.
There should be a judicial probe as the rejection of a candidate's nomination is a crime in democracy, Yadav wrote.
Notably, the SP had announced on March 30 that Manoj Yadav, who belongs to Shikohabad in Uttar Pradesh, would be given ticket from Khajuraho. But two days later, it replaced him with Meera Yadav, a local face, to take on V D Sharma who had won Khajuraho seat by more than 4.5 lakh votes in 2019.
Meera Yadav had won from Niwari assembly seat, part of Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency, as SP candidate in 2008. Her husband Deep Narayan was the SP MLA in 2007 and 2012 from Garautha in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, which shares a border with MP's Niwari district. He has also been the SP's Madhya Pradesh unit chief.
The BJP has been winning the Khajuraho seat since 2004.
खजुराहो सीट से इंडिया गठबंधन की सपा प्रत्याशी मीरा यादव का नामांकन निरस्त करना सरेआम लोकतंत्र की हत्या है। कहा जा रहा है कि हस्ताक्षर नहीं थे तो फिर देखनेवाले अधिकारी ने फार्म लिया ही क्यों। ये सब बहाने हैं और हार चुकी भाजपा की हताशा। जो न्यायालय के कैमरे के सामने छल कर सकते हैं…
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 5, 2024
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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.
