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Category: Politics

  • Khamenei: Iran seeks peaceful use of nuclear energy, not for weapons

    Khamenei: Iran seeks peaceful use of nuclear energy, not for weapons

    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the country is looking for “peaceful” use of nuclear energy, and “not for nuclear weapons”…reports Asian Lite News

    “The reason for the enemy’s emphasis on the Iranian nuclear issue and the imposition of oppressive sanctions, despite their knowledge of our peaceful use (of nuclear energy), is to prevent the country’s scientific progress aimed to meet Iran’s future needs,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Supreme Leader as saying on Thursday.

    Khamenei also said that the enemy has targeted the public opinion, especially the minds of the Iranian youth, by spending billions of dollars and with various plans in their think tanks to discourage them from the ideals of the Islamic revolution.

    He described “economic pressure” and “media operations” as two main apparatus of the “arrogance” to separate people from the Islamic establishment, saying that spreading “lies and slandering the basis of the revolution and the institutions that help the progress of the revolution are the methods used in their media operations”.

    Meanwhile, Khamenei stressed the need to deal with economic and sanction pressures by relying on internal capacities in the country.

    Regarding the ongoing nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna, he noted that “diplomacy is also good, just as our good, revolutionary brothers are working to persuade the other side to lift sanctions”.

    Criticizing some acts of the former Iranian negotiating team in signing the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he said that “in (signing) the JCPOA, my view was that we should consider the points that would not cause problems later, but some of these points were ignored and problems that we see (today) arose”.

    The Iranian leader did not elaborate on his “points” needed to be considered in the clinch of the JCPOA, but he had insisted that the US is “unreliable” about its vows, and the Iranian negotiators should have been cognizant of this point.

    Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015.

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    However, former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, which prompted the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments one year later and advance its halted nuclear programs.

    Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Austria’s capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely the UK, China, France, Russia plus Germany, with the United States indirectly involved in the talks, to revive the landmark deal.

    Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said on Wednesday that the JCPOA countries are now closer to an agreement than any time before.

    He wrote on Twitter that “after weeks of intensive talks, we are closer than ever to an agreement; nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, though”.

  • Stalin reaching out to non-BJP CMs for national front against BJP

    Stalin reaching out to non-BJP CMs for national front against BJP

    This was a direct attack on Banerjee and hence she seems to have taken a back seat and pushed Stalin to take the lead for the coordination…reports Asian Lite News

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M.K. Stalin will coordinate with non-BJP Chief Ministers and other opposition leaders, including from the Congress and the CPM, to form a national platform against the saffron party.

    Stalin has already floated the All-India Federation of Social Justice, in which he invited even his political rival and AIADMK leader, O. Panneerselvam.

    It may be recalled that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had requested Stalin to take the charge in coordinating with non-BJP CMs in the country as well as non-BJP political parties, including the Congress and the CPM.

    Senior DMK leader and state Water Works Minister S. Duraimurugan told IANS, “Our Chief Minister is an icon of Dravidian struggle and he has excellent rapport with almost all the national leaders. He has already commenced speaking to these leaders for a national platform against the BJP and after the urban local body polls are over on February 19, the momentum of this coordination will increase and a national platform against the BJP will soon emerge.”

    Subramanian Ramaswamy, former professor of political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, who is also a political observer, told IANS, “Stalin is the apt choice for such coordination as he has good rapport with the Congress, CPM, CPI, and other political parties.

    “With regard to Mamata Banerjee, both the Congress and the CPM are skeptical about her. But being a seasoned politician, Banerjee knows well that if she allows Stalin to take the centre stage, things would happen, and for the larger interest, she seems to have decided to play the second fiddle.”

    Former General Secretary of CPI-M, Prakash Karat, who is also the party’s politburo member, said in a statement that the broader alliance or rather a broader coordination of opposition political parties will take place only with the presence of the Congress and excluding Congress is not a good move.

    This was a direct attack on Banerjee and hence she seems to have taken a back seat and pushed Stalin to take the lead for the coordination.

    The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, according to sources close to him, has already telephoned all the senior leaders, including the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Sources also said that Stalin has spoken to senior leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others.

    However, the list of opposition leaders does not include Aravind Kejriwal for the time being.

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    With Stalin taking the centre stage, he is reminding one of his late father M. Karunanidhi, and his odysseys to Delhi as a kingmaker, in both the NDA and UPA rule at the Centre.

  • Now country remembers my good work: Manmohan

    Now country remembers my good work: Manmohan

    The Congress had announced Charanjit Singh Channi’s name as the Chief Minister’s face just weeks ahead of the assembly polls…reports Asian Lite News

    Ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab and the remaining phase of Uttar Pradesh polls, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has issued a video statement in which he said that he was called ‘Maun Mohan’ then but now the country remembers the good work done by him. He appealed to the voters of Punjab, UP and Manipur to vote for the Congress.

    Manmohan Singh said, “I am satisfied that I was called ‘Maun Mohan’, and false allegation of corruption was levelled against the government but the nation remembers my good work and the BJP has been exposed.”

    He alleged that due to the wrong policy of the government, people are suffering from inflation, unemployment and in the past 7.5 years, the government is not accepting its failures but blaming the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

    The former Prime Minister is recovering from post Covid complications and could not address any rally or press conference in Punjab. He said that there is a gracefulness of the Prime Ministerial post and blaming history will not lessen the crimes of the present government. He said the Congress never politicized anything for political gains and in adverse situation never let down the country at international level.

    The former Prime Minister defended Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and said that the BJP is trying to defame him in the name of security. Similarly, the farmers were also demonised.

    The Congress had announced Charanjit Singh Channi’s name as the Chief Minister’s face just weeks ahead of the assembly polls.

    Criminal case against Channi

    Following Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s allegedly derogatory remarks on the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, a criminal case was filed against him in a court in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and an application moved in a Patna police station on Thursday.

    Social activist Tammannah Hashmi filed a plea under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in Muzaffarpur and the CJM’s court has admitted the case.

    “Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi insulted the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. His statement has hurt the sentiments of these states. Hence, I have filed an application against him in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court. It is accepted by the court. The next hearing of this case will be on February 24,” Hashmi said.

    The BJP’s youth wing came forward to file a FIR in Patna as well. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Vice President Manish Singh moved an application in Kadam Kuan police station to register an FIR against Channi.

    “We have strongly demanded legal action against the Punjab Chief Minister. He should apologize for his derogatory remark on the people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi,” Singh said.

    Channi has claimed that his statement was twisted by opposition parties and media.

    “My statement was against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, (and AAP leaders) Durgesh Pathak and Sanjay Singh who came from outside and creating disturbance. My statement is not for common people of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan who come to Punjab for work. Their contribution in the making of Punjab is immense and I have great respect for them,” Channi said in a video statement.

    “We all are migrant people and we have equal rights on the lands of Punjab. A large number of Punjabi people are also working in other states and in other countries,” Channi said.

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  • ‘Opposition unity’ on menu at Thackeray’s Sunday lunch with KCR

    ‘Opposition unity’ on menu at Thackeray’s Sunday lunch with KCR

    Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda has also expressed support to KCR on his anti-communal agenda and the duo are slated to have a meeting shortly…reports Asian Lite News

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray invited his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrashekar Rao for lunch on Sunday with a power menu comprising national affairs and opposition unity, officials said.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Thackeray called up KCR, as Rao is popularly known, and lauded his efforts to rally the country’s regional and Opposition parties and forge a united challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.

    Thackeray is understood to have conveyed to KCR the need to “save the country” from BJP’s divisive political agenda for which the Shiv Sena would extend full support.

    KCR is expected to fly down from Hyderabad on Sunday morning and drop in at the CM’s official residence ‘Varsha’ at Malabar Hill for the ‘lunch pe charcha’, an official indicated.

    However, ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) other constituents – the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress – told IANS that “as of now, no meetings are scheduled between their leaders and KCR”.

    Key states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu or even Delhi – where the BJP has lost elections since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls – are considered critical in its ambitions to ensure maximum leverage for the 2024 Lok Sabha or even the future Rajya Sabha polls.

    Since the past few weeks, the Telangana CM has been zipping around the country, meeting top leaders of various national and regional Opposition parties to rally them for a united front against the BJP before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Among the leaders he has already met are Tejaswi Yadav, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin, and is likely to meet Thackeray and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee – who incidentally had come to meet Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar in December.

    Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda has also expressed support to KCR on his anti-communal agenda and the duo are slated to have a meeting shortly.

    Most states ruled by Opposition or regional parties have been strongly protesting at the BJP’s continuing “destabilising” efforts or “toppling attempts”.

    They have also been accusing the BJP of misusing power and government machinery by letting loose various Central investigating agencies against their top leaders and even family members to make them “bend” or “break”.

    Among the parties that are considered the prime targets include Shiv Sena, the NCP, the Trinamool Congress, and certain other parties, too.

    A MVA leader said that similar issues had come up during Banerjee’s confabulations with Thackeray and Sharad Pawar last December, and the upcoming discussions with KCR are likely to move these even further.

    On Tuesday, Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut launched a scathing attack on the state BJP functionaries, Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies, on how they have been harassing people on flimsy reasons to target the top leaders.

    He also charged the Central agencies of going all out against the Opposition leaders, but not displaying the same vigour when BJP leaders are accused of graft charges despite providing evidence repeatedly.

    A senior state Congress leader said while the Opposition unity plans are necessary to dare the BJP’s communal and disruptive politics, “no such exercise can be complete or practical without Congress” – a sentiment voiced even by Pawar several times in the past.

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  • Raje’s absence from BJP protest again exposes rift within party

    Raje’s absence from BJP protest again exposes rift within party

    When asked why the party officials concerned were unaware about her absence, a spokesperson of Team Raje said, “I am surprised that they did not know. Therefore, I’m putting this down as an official line of contact.”…reports Archana Sharma

    There seems to be no let-up in the alleged rift within the BJP in Rajasthan, with the communication gap in the saffron camp in the desert state again painting a not so rosy picture.

    On Wednesday, the two groups, one led by former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the other by BJP’s state unit chief Satish Poonia, shared two different versions with IANS for Raje’s absence from the BJP’s protest staged here on Tuesday to press for a CBI probe into the REET (Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers) paper leak scandal.

    Raje’s team on Wednesday confirmed with IANS that the former CM’s daughter-in-law was in New Delhi for a therapy, hence she had to rush to the national capital to be with her.

    Vasundhara Raje

    When asked why the party officials concerned were unaware about her absence, a spokesperson of Team Raje said, “I am surprised that they did not know. Therefore, I’m putting this down as an official line of contact.”

    Meanwhile, the organisational team of the state BJP confirmed with IANS that it had no clue that Raje and four other MLAs from her camp were not attending Tuesday’s protest.

    “It was decided from beforehand at the MLAs’ meeting that a major protest will be staged on Tuesday in Jaipur to press the demand for a CBI probe into the REET paper leak scam. The party’s state in-charge, Arun Singh, had assigned task to each MLA vial a virtual call. Till that time, it was not known that Raje, along with Kalicharan Saraf, Pratap Singhvi and Kailash Meghwal, shall not come to the protest site,” said a member from Team Poonia.

    Meanwhile, when asked about this, the Raje camp said, “By the time a notice was issued, madam was already in Delhi.”

    Her daughter-in-law’s therapy was scheduled earlier., and it is done at intervals, said the Raje camp.

    “But they could have kept us updated. It was only after we called that we were informed about her visit to Delhi,” said a Team Poonia member.

    It needs to be mentioned here that a major protest was staged in Jaipur on Tuesday, demanding a CBI probe into the REET paper leak scandal.

    The Team Raje also shared a news clipping with IANS which has an interview of Raje, where she could be heard pressing for a CBI probe into the REET scandal.

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  • Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in West Bank

    Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in West Bank

    Israeli soldiers on Tuesday killed a Palestinian man during clashes with protestors in a village northwest of the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement…reports Asian Lite News

    According to a statement given to the media by the Ministry, Nihad al-Barghouthi, 20, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Nabi Saleh village, Xinhua news agency reported.

    The young man was shot in the abdomen and was in critical condition, and succumbed to his injuries shortly after being taken to the hospital, as per the statement.

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    Fierce clashes broke out between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers on Tuesday. The demonstrators pelted stones at the soldiers, who responded by opening fire to disperse the protestors, Palestinian eyewitnesses said.

    According to them, al-Barghouthi had been recently released from an Israeli prison after being held for several months.

    Relatives of Palestinian Nihad al-Barghouthi mourn in a hospital morgue in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Feb. 15, 2022. Israeli soldiers on Tuesday killed a Palestinian young man during clashes with Palestinian protestors in a village northwest of the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua/IANS)

  • UP records around 60% turnout in Phase 1 polls

    UP records around 60% turnout in Phase 1 polls

    Further, over 250 ‘Model Polling Stations’ in the theme of ‘Votes and Memories’ made the polling day colourful for the residents of Gautam Budh Nagar district…reports Asian Lite News

    Phase I of the polling for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections on Thursday saw 59.87 per cent voting, according to the Election Commission of India.

    “Phase I has seen 59.87 per cent polling till voting ended,” said the ECI statement said.

    The 11 districts that went to polls saw a mixed turnout with Agra witnessing 60.23 per cent voting, Aligarh 60.49 per cent, Bagpat 61.25 per cent, Bulandshahr 60.57 per cent, Gautam Budh Nagar 54.38 per cent, Ghaziabad 52.43 per cent, Hapur 60.53 per cent, Mathura 62.90 per cent, Meerut 60 per cent, Muzaffarnagar 65.32 per cent and Shamli 66.14 saw per cent, the EC statistics showed.

    Of the total 403 seats in UP assembly, voting for 58 seats of the phase I of the seven-phase elections is being held on Thursday. There are a total of 634 candidates in fray, 73 of them are women. As many as 2.28 crore voters (1.04 of them female) will exercise their franchise at 26,027 polling booths across 10,853 polling stations in 11 districts.

    Model booths

    Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Budh Nagar district, which went to the polls on Thursday in the first phase of the state Assembly elections, sought to showcase vibrant colours of democracy by setting up model booths in a bid to make people feel the essence of elections and increased turnout.

    Notably, in the last few elections, the voting percentage of the Gautam Budh Nagar district has been very less. Especially, in the Noida Assembly constituency, the voter turnout has not even been 50 per cent.

    To increase the voter turnout, the administration has this year taken several concrete steps such as providing facilities of a waiting area, clean drinking water, toilets and voter assistance booths at the polling stations.

    Further, over 250 ‘Model Polling Stations’ in the theme of ‘Votes and Memories’ made the polling day colourful for the residents of Gautam Budh Nagar district.

    The Model Polling Booths were accurately decorated to exhibit the importance of voting and make the voters celebrate the festival of democracy. From the entrance till exit at the polling centre, the voters were surprised to see the arrangements made by the district administration. Every entrance of the model polling station was decorated with balloons in the colour of the Indian national flag.

    Similarly, the first time voters were given a “Thank You” card that was also made by the students and the teachers while the senior citizens were given a badge reading “I am a proud voter”.

    The authorities had also put up a ‘Selfie Corner’ outside the polling station which remained the main attraction not only for the young generation but also for the elderly, who were also seen clicking their pictures. (with inputs from Ujwal Jalali/IANS)

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  • Channi as CM face desperate bid by Congress to revive fortunes: Mayawati

    Channi as CM face desperate bid by Congress to revive fortunes: Mayawati

    She also pointed out that it would have been better and more befitting if Channi had taken the blessings of Guru Ravidas-ji after being appointed the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress party…reports Asian Lite News

    Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati on Tuesday described the Congress party’s decision to declare incumbent Charanjit Singh Channi as its chief ministerial face in Punjab as a desperate attempt to revive its sinking fortunes in the state.

    The BSP supremo, who addressed a large gathering here along with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal, in Nawanshahr said: “The Congress party only remembers Dalits at the time of elections. Once the elections are over they will sideline Charanjit Channi who is even now being remote controlled from Delhi.”

    She also asked Channi to understand why he had been promoted in the party, saying the Congress party had a past history of using the Dalit community during elections.

    She also pointed out that it would have been better and more befitting if Channi had taken the blessings of Guru Ravidas-ji after being appointed the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress party.

    “I appeal to the Ravidas samaj to make Channi realise the value of Guru Ravidas-ji”, Mayawati added in her first election rally ahead of polling for 117 seats of the Assembly on February 20.

    The BSP president, while expressing confidence that the SAD-BSP alliance would sweep the polls, said: “We all have to work unitedly to install Sukhbir Badal as the next chief minister of the state.”

    She said she was confident that with Badal as the next chief minister special schemes would be launched to bring in all-round improvement in the life of the weaker sections of society.

    In her message on the occasion, Mayawati said while the Congress party was dying a natural death across the country and its days were numbered in Punjab said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was also on its way out. “People realise the BJP has a corporate mindset and will make it meet the same fate as the Congress party.”

    Speaking about Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mayawati said people should see the conditions in Delhi for themselves before thinking of reposing faith in AAP in Punjab.

    Speaking on the occasion, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal stated that after Mayawati’s visit to Punjab, the SAD-BSP tsunami was set to sweep the state.

    He said the Punjabis felt cheated by the Congress party which had done nothing and wasted five years by scrapping or curtailing all social welfare benefits given to Punjabis by Parkash Singh Badal, be it scrapping blue cards or curtailing old-age pension and shagun scheme.

    He said similarly Punjabis could not trust AAP which had an anti-Punjab agenda.

    He said AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal did not have any attachment with Punjab.

    “Kejriwal has taken an anti-Punjab stance in the Supreme Court on key issues and even demanded transfer of Punjab’s river waters to Haryana and Delhi, closure of its thermal plants and registration of criminal cases against farmers who were forced to burn their paddy stubble.”

    Badal also announced that all blue cards which had been deleted by the Congress government would be restored within one month of formation of the SAD-BSP government.

    He also announced that Rs 2,000 per month would be given to the woman head of below poverty line families, all consumers would be given 400 units of power free of cost, Rs 10 lakh medical insurance cover would be given to all and that students will be eligible to a Rs 10 lakh loan for higher studies, besides 33 per cent reservation in technical institutions (government school students).

    He also announced that all those who did not have a home would be given a five marla plot of land and that a 500 bed medical college would be established in every district of the state.

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  • Captain says Congress made a mistake by declaring CM’s face

    Captain says Congress made a mistake by declaring CM’s face

    Pointing out that leaders like Channi and Sukhjinder Randhawa had backstabbed him and misled the Congress high command after he had supported them in their political careers, the PLC chief said these men could not be trusted…reports Asian Lite News

    Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the Congress had made a big mistake by announcing a chief minister’s face as “a chief minister should be decided on grounds of capability and not on the metric of caste, be it a Scheduled Caste, Jat or Hindu, which they had done.”

    Pointing out that Punjab was never before divided on caste or religious lines, Capt Amarinder said “Charanjit Channi does not have the calibre of a chief minister,” and his tall claims cannot fool the people of the state.

    “Channi claims he has done everything in 111 days, he’s fooling the people. Every project has a gestation period and takes months to start,” he noted, warning the people against getting carried away by such brazen lies since all the projects that Channi talks of were initiated by his government.

    Interacting with the media after a public meeting in support of the Patiala Rural PLC candidate, Sanjeev Kumar Bittu, the former chief minister warned of an explosion soon from Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had been discarded by his own party for chief ministerial candidature in favour of Channi, saying the PPCC president was too ambitious to stay quiet for long.

    Pointing out that leaders like Channi and Sukhjinder Randhawa had backstabbed him and misled the Congress high command after he had supported them in their political careers, the PLC chief said these men could not be trusted.

    “They will compromise the interests of Punjab to further their own,” he warned, in response to questions. He recalled how he had inducted Channi into the Congress and helped him become MLA and ensured Randhawa’s seat in the last election.

    Answering a question, the former chief minister said there was no comparison between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi as far as political and public life experience goes.

    He had known Modi for long and used to meet him frequently in Delhi at a time when they were both chief ministers, he said, adding that the Modi government had helped him whenever Punjab was in dire straits.

    “We have to work with them to ensure a safe future for Punjab,” he stressed. “The future of Punjab depends on these polls,” he said, underlining the need for close Centre-state coordination to secure the state’s interests.

    To a question on whether his wife, MP Preneet Kaur, would campaign for him or the Congress, Amarinder said it was for her to answer that.

    “Politics is different…my mother was in the BJP and I was in the Congress. We sat in opposite benches in Parliament. Politics politics ‘hoti hai pyaar pyaar hota hai’,” he remarked.

    Urging the people to vote for “vikas” which only the NDA could provide and not “vinaash”, which the other parties would push Punjab towards, Amarinder expressed confidence that the people of the state would look after their interests and vote accordingly.

    He trashed the surveys favouring the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying such polls were conducted even in 2017 and had proven to be false. While he could not predict the number of seats they would get, his party in alliance with the BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) was set to form the next government, he asserted.

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  • Azad calls Bahujan Samaj Party ‘dry tree’

    Azad calls Bahujan Samaj Party ‘dry tree’


    Attacking the Samajwadi Party, Aazad said that those who are established, do not want to give a chance to new people…reports Asian Lite News

    Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad has said that his new political outfit is emerging as an alternative to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), adding that the latter was a “dry tree which is neither providing shelter nor fruits”.

    This is the first time that Chandra Shekhar has openly lashed out against the BSP.

    Aazad, who was in Mathura to seek votes for his party candidates contesting elections from Govardhan and Chhata constituencies, said that Dalits had propelled the BSP into power but the party was no longer in a position to do anything for the community because it had become “outdated”.

    “Change is the law of nature. If one tree becomes weak then an option should be available and Azad Samaj party is available as an alternative.”

    He said that people from the community should realise this and they should extend support to his party and make it powerful in Uttar Pradesh.

    The Bhim Army chief, whose political outfit Azad Samaj Party was launched in 2020, is seeking to establish itself as a defender of the rights of Dalits, other backward classes and minorities.

    Attacking the Samajwadi Party, Aazad said that those who are established, do not want to give a chance to new people.

    “Now our alliance is with the public as they will cast votes for us. Akhilesh cannot make our people MLA. We have to fight our own battle,” he said.

    Earlier, Azad said that though he is disappointed with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati, he is still open to post-poll alliances with them because his main objective is to prevent BJP from returning to power.

    Chandra Shekhar told reporters that he made an effort to approach Akhilesh to stop BJP from winning.

    “I respect Akhilesh Yadav but I cannot see people from other castes and religions suffering. He cheated me but I re-emerged as a stronger person and set up our andolan. I tied up with other smaller parties and formed the Samajik Parivartan Morcha. Why should people even vote for the Opposition parties? Have they fought for people or protected them from BJP’s dictatorship? Akhilesh is saying that if elected, he will restore the old pension scheme but why didn’t he do it when he was the chief minister from 2012 to 2017? However, we will see what happens after the elections and will do whatever is needed to stop BJP from coming to power.”

    Asked whether he was positioning himself as a Dalit leader, Chandra Shekhar said, “I am projected as a Dalit leader but I am working towards ‘bahujan ekta’. I have fought for various issues like NEET quota, census for the OBC, CAA and NRC. I have set up youth leadership and given the poor an opportunity to work. Leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati are more concerned about their own politics than people. What did Mayawati do for Dalits over the past five years? Holding rallies and asking for votes is not her only job. She should be standing with Dalits. I respect her but I cannot leave the Dalit samaj to die at BSP’s hands.”

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