logo
Shashi Tharoor meets Deputy Chairman of Russian Federation Council in Moscow

Shashi Tharoor meets Deputy Chairman of Russian Federation Council in Moscow

India Gazette26-06-2025
Moscow [Russia], June 26 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is on a visit to Russia, met several top Russian leaders, including the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (the Upper House) and also interacted with students.
The Congress MP took to the social media platform X to share about his meeting with the Russian lawmaker.
'An excellent and remarkably candid discussion with Konstantin Iosifovich Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (the Upper House). Ranged from #OperationSindoor to regional geopolitics and relations between our Parliaments. A first-rate exchange of views,' Tharoor posted.
https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1938165974391304401
Shashi also interacted with Russian students who are studying about India and Indian students in Russia.
In another post on X, Tharoor wrote, 'Enjoyed a ninety-minute interaction with some 150 Russians studying about India and Indian students in Russia. Their questions ranged from India-Pakistan relations to global neocolonialism and the risk of militarisation of space. A remarkable discussion which was recorded by @RT_com for likely broadcast in a couple of months. And when it concluded, i was gratified to find i had readers and fans even in Moscow! (The last pic features the Russian Edition of #TheFiveDollarSmile -- but the reader's smile is worth a lot more!)'
Earlier on Wednesday, Tharoor met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and several other Russian lawmakers.
Tharoor posted on X, 'Good to catch up with old friend Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the #PrimakovReadings in Moscow.'
He further said, 'Enjoyed catching up with old friend Andrey Denisov, former Russian Ambassador to the @UN and to China , and now the First Deputy Chair of the Committee on International Affairs of the Russian Federation Council.' (ANI)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

V S Achuthanandan — Communist, mass leader, icon
V S Achuthanandan — Communist, mass leader, icon

Indian Express

time27 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

V S Achuthanandan — Communist, mass leader, icon

End of an era' may be a cliché, but at times, it's the most appropriate phrase. The passing of V S Achuthanandan at 101 is such a moment. V S defined communist politics for about eight decades. He was the last survivor of the 32 leaders who walked out of the stormy national council meeting of the undivided CPI in 1964 to form the CPM. But it is not just the years that he lived through or the epochs that he witnessed or participated in — India's struggle for Independence, the Punnapra-Vayalar revolt of 1946 that paved the way for Kerala to join the Indian Union, the split in the Communist Party in 1964, the fight against the Emergency in 1975 or the country's tectonic shift from a planned economy to a free market in 1991 — that defined him. Comrade V S was the last living link to an Indian politics shaped by workers' and peasants' movements, and the idea that mass struggle could be a vehicle for social change. As I write this on a rainy day in New Delhi, I can't help but notice the visuals being beamed live from Thiruvananthapuram: Even school children could be seen milling around the AKG Centre to catch a glimpse of the departed leader. I can't help but think that even their grandfathers might not have been born when V S took up the red flag, while toiling as a tailor or lifting bales in a coir factory to earn his daily bread. Little wonder, then, that he chose to name his autobiography Life is a Struggle. As the news of his demise came in, there was a common thread in tributes, ranging from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the grassroots worker: V S proved that life and struggle are not two different things. What makes Comrade V S a darling of the masses? It has as much to do with his commitment to the cause he believed in as with his passion. In the ever-changing world of realpolitik, V S chose to be a man of the party organisation for decades. One of the State Committee members of the undivided CPI that came to power in 1957 in Kerala, V S became a minister for the first time — Chief Minister to be precise — at the age of 82 in 2006. There were only two pillars in his world — the party and the people. As CM, the biggest allegation against V S was that he behaved more like the Opposition leader. The jibe was about the mass agitations he led — such as against encroachment in the tourist paradise of Munnar by powerful vested interests or the fast he underwent demanding a ban on the deadly pesticide endosulfan. What his opponents failed to grasp — and what the masses instinctively grasped — was that he was a man fighting the system, not the Opposition. It is precisely this conviction that made him an unlikely champion of the free software movement. His uncompromising stand on core issues of corruption, the environment and violence against women earned him a few foes but his popularity skyrocketed. As CM, he once famously refused to present an award to a then-star of Malayalam cinema who was battling charges of sexual harassment. That was V S. Setbacks only emboldened him, and he lived to fight another day. It remains a topic of academic interest how a dyed-in-the-wool party organisation man like V S became, overnight, a wildly popular mass leader in the 1990s. He was the biggest crowd-puller I have seen. His speeches, replete with sarcasm, drew in people of all persuasions. Imitating his speeches — that style of stressing a syllable here or pausing in the middle of a wisecrack there — became a subculture in school/college festivals, movies and TV shows. In his personal life, V S inculcated the same discipline as he did in the party as its long-standing state secretary. V S was not given to indulgences. In that, he leaves another model for India's youth to follow: Life is about discipline, courage and commitment. More importantly, he redefined youth when questions were raised about his fitness to be CM. Comrade V S demolished the sceptics by reciting a verse: Your age is not the grey or black/That rests upon your crown/But in the fire that burns your spirit/And a head that never bows down to tyranny. A few days ago, I was at the hospital where the dear comrade was admitted. His son, V A Arun, said: 'The fighter that he is, it won't be easy for death to conquer him.' V S will live on. Lal Salam, comrade. The writer is leader of CPI(M) in Rajya Sabha

Revanth for Delhi today to garner MPs' support for 42% BC quota
Revanth for Delhi today to garner MPs' support for 42% BC quota

Hans India

time27 minutes ago

  • Hans India

Revanth for Delhi today to garner MPs' support for 42% BC quota

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will be giving a powerpoint presentation to all the Congress MPs in Delhi on caste census and BC reservations on July 24. During his 3-day visit likely to begin from Tuesday, he will be requesting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a discussion in Parliament on 42% reservation for BCs. As part of bolstering the support for the BC reservation in view of 'Chalo Delhi' on July 25, he will be meeting party seniors and MPs from INDI bloc. Along with the CM, Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikarmarka will also be visiting the national capital. Both will be meeting Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to brief them about the report on caste census of the State, which was submitted by the expert committee recently. Telangana Congress MPs Convener Mallu Ravi informed the media on Monday in Delhi that CM and Deputy CM will meet Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi and will explain to them the caste census and 42% reservation for BCs undertaken in the state and will accept their suggestions and recommendations. During evening hours CM Revanth will give a powerpoint presentation to all Congress MPs in the country at Indira Bhavan on caste census and BC reservations. He said that he will request a discussion in Parliament on 42% reservation for BCs. It may be mentioned here that in March 2025, the Telangana Assembly passed two bills, the Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (reservation of seats in educational institutions and of appointments or posts in services under the State) Bill 2025 and The Telangana Backward Classes (Reservation of seats in Rural and Urban Local Bodies) Bill 2025, in the Assembly. These bills were then sent to the Centre for constitutional amendments. The Governor, Jishnu Dev Varma, forwarded the bills to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration. Recently, the Telangana cabinet decided to proceed with an ordinance to implement the 42% reservation for the upcoming local body elections. The state government justified this increase by citing the results of a recent caste census, which indicated that BCs constitute 56% of Telangana's population. The ordinance intends to amend the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, which currently caps reservations at 50%.

Indisciplined in party will face stick, warns TG BJP president
Indisciplined in party will face stick, warns TG BJP president

Hans India

time27 minutes ago

  • Hans India

Indisciplined in party will face stick, warns TG BJP president

Hyderabad: BJP Telangana chief N Ramchander Rao stated that if anyone in the party is indisciplined, disciplinary action will be taken and emphasized that there is no distinction between old and new members, claiming that such differences are narratives created by some individuals. Addressing the media in the national capital on Monday, he affirmed that any leader who harms the party or violates discipline will face consequences. As state president, he aims to resolve any minor issues that arise within the party. He also mentioned that if there are problems concerning leaders and workers, the national leadership will address them. In his first visit to Delhi after assuming office as BJP Telangana State President, he addressed the media, expressing his desire to seek blessings and guidance from the party's central leadership to strengthen the party in the state. During his visit, he met with Sunil Bansal, Arvind Menon, and Nitin Gadkari. He noted that he would meet BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in Parliament the following day. Rao criticized Congress party leaders for misleading the people of the country and Telangana, pointing out that while significant issues were being discussed in Parliament, the main opposition leader was absent, making their criticisms of the BJP seem unreasonable. He highlighted that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had visited Delhi 46 times in the last 19 months. Yet key Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, did not grant him an appointment; on the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers did. He said that preventing Rahul Gandhi from meeting with Telangana Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, is an insult to the people of Telangana. Rao also criticized the Congress government for blaming the central government regarding the 42% reservation for backward classes (BCs). A bill was introduced in the Assembly to provide 42% reservation in local body elections, which the BJP fully supported. However, Rao expressed concern about a conspiracy to implement 10% reservation for Muslim minorities even before the ordinance is finalized, stating that the BJP opposes religious and political reservations. Congress leaders have proposed that to grant 42% reservation to Backward Classes (BCs), it should be included in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. Rao questioned whether legal advice had been obtained during the Cabinet discussions, emphasizing that granting a 42% reservation would exceed the 50% cap imposed by the Supreme Court. He stated that for the increase in BC reservation percentages, amending Section 285 of the Panchayati Raj Act is necessary. Despite this, Rao pointed out that the Congress government is now considering bringing an ordinance on BC reservations without a clear understanding of the 9th Schedule process. He reminded that in 1973, the Supreme Court clarified in the Kesavananda Bharati case that even if a law is included in the 9th Schedule, it is still subject to judicial review. He cited the ongoing pending case regarding the reservation law, included in the 9th Schedule in Tamil Nadu by Jayalalithaa, emphasizing that the final decision has yet to be made. Rao accused the Congress government of misleading the people regarding the 42% BC reservation and asserted that Congress should apologize for deceiving the BC community. He criticized Congress leaders for being aware of the Supreme Court verdict and the need to amend Section 285 but still not engaging in substantive discussions. He advised that the Congress party, instead of blaming the central government, focus on implementing the promised 42% reservation. The BJP, he reiterated, remains against religious reservations.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store