Ramesh flays BJP MPs' praise of Modi, compares Parliament to North Korea's Assembly
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Congress leader and senior parliamentarian Jairam Ramesh has criticised BJP MPs for "excessively" praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament, saying their actions sometimes give him the feeling that he is sitting in the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, a totalitarian Communist country.
In an interview with PTI, Ramesh responded to questions related to India's foreign policy in the wake of attacks on Iran by the forces of the US and Israel, alleging that all matters concerning the country- -including external affairs and finance- -are handled by a single man.
The longtime Rajya Sabha MP said he sometimes felt he was "sitting in the Parliament of North Korea"- -a reference to the actions of members of the SPA when their supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, enters- -when he listened to speeches from the treasury benches in New Delhi.
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"Today, it's a one-man show. It's a one-man band. So it's the PM's foreign policy, it's the PM's budget. Everything is the PM," Ramesh said.
The AICC general secretary in-charge (Communications) said that when he sat in Parliament in the morning, he was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
The senior leader said he came, sat regularly and diligently, and remained there throughout the day.
"Sometimes I get the impression that I'm sitting in the Parliament of North Korea. I listen to the people from the BJP. Whatever be the subject, whatever the issue, 90 per cent of the speech will be praising the Prime Minister. Nothing to do with the subject, nothing to do with the bill. They will be praising the Prime Minister."
"When the Prime Minister enters, slogans, you know, table thumping, sloganeering, 'Modi, Modi, Modi.' This is the Parliament of India," Ramesh alleged.
He said even at moments of national triumph, such scenes were rare.
Referring to the 1971 war with Pakistan, he said then prime minister Indira Gandhi may have received an enthusiastic response on December 16, 1971, when Pakistan surrendered, and when the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee called her "Durga".
"Maybe that day everybody would have cheered her. But this one, every time he walks in... Modi bhajanam," he said.
"This has never happened. When Mr Nehru walked in, nobody said, ‘Nehru, Nehru, Nehru," Ramesh said, launching a broader attack on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Modi, particularly in the context of developments in West Asia.
"It is very clear that the Modi government is totally allied with Israel. It is afraid of (US President Donald) Trump. It has embraced Israel. It is very unfortunate," he said.
Referring to the 2023 attacks by Hamas in Israel, Ramesh said: "What happened on October 7, 2023, was absolutely unacceptable. No question about it."
However, he added, "What Israel has done subsequently, and what the US has supported along with Israel to do in Gaza and in Iran, that also is equally unacceptable."
He accused the government of abandoning India's traditional position.
"We recognised the State of Palestine on November 18, 1988. We were amongst the first countries in the world. And look at what we are doing now. In this regard, India has demonstrated moral cowardice," he said.
On India's economic exposure to the Middle East region, Ramesh noted the scale of migration and remittances.
"The total number of Indians working in the region is almost 10 million. We get about 40 or 50 billion dollars in terms of remittances every year. Kerala's economy is heavily, absolutely dependent," he said, stressing that "the security and safety of Indian citizens is absolutely important."
Ramesh alleged that India's independent foreign policy was now "a thing of the past".
"It's not foreign policy, it's not diplomacy. I call it huggomacy. Hug everybody and show that you're personal friends," he said, taking a dig at PM Modi.
He alleged that key announcements were being made from Washington rather than New Delhi.
"The first announcement that Operation Sindoor was going to be halted came from Washington. The first announcement of the trade deal came from Washington. The first announcement of stopping Russian oil came from Washington. Why can’t we take our people into confidence," he asked.
Responding to suggestions that the Congress position amounted to a Leftist stance, he said: "It's not a left position. This is the nationalist position. We are taking a nationalist position."
He cited India's stand during the 1971 Bangladesh crisis.
"Look at 1971, the American position on Bangladesh, how they tried to make life impossible for Indira Gandhi and how she stood up to Richard Nixon," he said.
Ramesh said that India's strategic autonomy must be preserved.
"Nobody can dictate to us what our relationship with Russia will be," he said, referring to longstanding defence and energy ties.
He alleged India's standing had declined.
"In my view, our standing has come down dramatically," he said, alleging that foreign policy was increasingly being used for domestic political polarisation.
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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.
