'We tolerated Nitish Kumar's Hindi push for cordiality in INDIA bloc,' says DMK leader TR Baalu
Chennai, Jan 28: JD(U) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said 'only Hindi should be spoken' and the party tolerated it for the sake of cordiality in INDIA alliance, DMK leader T R Baalu said here on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters after holding seat sharing talks with Congress leaders here, Baalu, when asked on the exit of Nitish Kumar from the INDIA alliance said it appeared that right from the beginning he had 'some issues' and there would not be any electoral 'damage' due to his move.
To a question about the 'Bihar Chief Minister's statement that nothing worked as per his plan in the INDIA bloc,' Baalu asked: "What did he plan? He did not spell out any plan, he said only Hindi should be spoken and only that (message) remains."
Elaborating, Baalu, a DMK Lok Sabha member and leader of the Parliamentary party said: "He (Nitish Kumar) said everyone should talk in Hindi. We tolerated it. Even then, we kept quiet, as a compromise, for the sake of cordiality in the alliance. It was said that English must not be spoken. This is an ordinary matter (hinting at politics). It is okay."
The DMK leader's reference made was to one of the INDIA bloc meetings in which Nitish Kumar reportedly stressed on use of Hindi.
DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi asked: "What is the guarantee that Nitish Kumar will continue with the BJP alliance till the Parliament election? Let us wait and see." Dubbing Nitish Kumar as 'fickle minded,' Bharathi said the Bihar Chief Minister's image has 'gone down' among the people.
It was not Nitish Kumar, but DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who first initiated efforts for bringing together Opposition parties at the national level to take on the BJP, Bharathi told reporters.
The INDIA bloc's 'success' in clinching a poll deal in Uttar Pradesh (with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party), the biggest state in the country, will be replicated in other parts of the nation, the DMK leader expressed confidence.
DMK spokesperson J Constandine Ravindran said Nitish Kumar's exit from the INDIA bloc is a "loss" for the BJP and a "gain" for the opposition alliance.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
