Udhayanidhi slams Vijay, says 'I am not Saturday politician', asserts Cong will be with DMK
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Chennai (PTI): Taking a veiled dig at actor-politician Vijay, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday said he does not venture out for campaign or party work only on Saturdays and without naming TVK workers, said they had no clue about ideology.
Udhayanidhi, the DMK youth wing secretary, without directly naming the Congress party, a key ally, expressed confidence that it would continue to be part of the alliance.
The DMK leader targeted AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami and said that all that the Leader of Opposition now remembers is BJP top leader Amit Shah and that he has forgotten even AIADMK founder leader MG Ramachandran.
Udhayanidhi said he is usually on an official tour 4-5 days a week and tours on Sundays as well. "I do not come out only on every Saturday," he said to thunderous applause at a DMK party functionaries meeting here. Further, the Deputy CM said he does not look at the day of the week to do his work and covers all the districts.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay, who commenced his state-wide tour for the 2026 Assembly election on September 13 has so far campaigned only on Saturdays.
In the days to come, Vijay is expected to add select-Sundays also to his campaign schedule. Vijay had said that such a Saturday-only arrangement was to ensure that people were not disturbed during working days and it is also to make sure that they were approached during the weekend, when they could spare sometime.
In the workers meeting, Udhayanidhi urged cadres to put aside "little bitterness" among them and be together and function as "Kalaignar Ani (late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's team)."
For the next 6 months, office-bearers should meet people daily and the campaign should be speeded up. "Thinnai pracharam" (Door-to-door campaign) must be taken up and the DMK regime's achievements must be explained to the public.
Targeting the TVK and without naming it directly, the Deputy CM said: "Some parties have been newly floated and members of such outfits have no idea about ideology; there is no idea about what the ideology is."
DMK office-bearers should, hence, campaign on the party's ideology and the sacrifices made by the party for the sake of securing state's rights and the Tamil language.
"You must reach out to the youths on our ideology, will you do it? In particular, you must talk to students; both men and women as they appear to have no idea about ideology. DMK is not a party that was founded merely for the sake of fighting elections. It is a party that was founded to fight for the rights of the people," he said.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has a very long stint in public life, stretching to about 60 years and it was marked by a string of struggles and there is no other leader who could be compared to him.
Mocking at Palaniswami, Udhayanidhi claimed that the AIADMK chief has forgotten the founder-leader of his own party and that he has "forgotten the face" of party founder M G Ramachandran.
The DMK leader alleged mockingly: "Palaniswami has not only forgotten his party, but he has also forgotten his party's founder leader. The only face visible to him now is Union Minister Amit Shah's face. Even if he looks at MGR's face in an image, Palaniswami will only be reminded of Amit Shah. That is the level of training the BJP has given to him."
When the AIADMK was defeated in the 2021 Assembly election, it blamed the BJP for its defeat and eventually walked out of the alliance.
Later, following a revival of ties in April this year, Palaniswami claimed that the AIADMK itself was protected by the BJP.
Alluding to signals from key ally Congress that it will be demanding more seats in the 2026 Assembly election and against the background of actor-politician Vijay offering a share in power to any party that joins forces with the TVK, the Deputy CM, without naming Congress directly said, "there is no need to bother, the hand will always be with us,"
Further, Udhayanidhi asserted that issues in this connection would be resolved by "Thalaivar (party chief Stalin)."
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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.
