MNS holds ‘Marathi pride' rally; Sena Minister gets heckled
Opposition parties held Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Home Department accountable for fuelling the issue by 'denying the democratic right to hold a rally'. However, Mr. Fadnavis rejected the claim that permission wasn't granted. 'The party [MNS] was asked to take a different route,' he said, also adding that permission sought for holding a gathering late Monday night was granted as well.
Opposition leaders Aaditya Thackeray of Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule criticised the government's handling of the situation. 'The Home Department and the Chief Minister are solely responsible for the chaos,' said Ms. Sule.
DCP Gaikwad said the MNS rally intended to pass through the Balaji Hotel area of Mira-Bhayandar where the slapping incident had taken place and hence an alternative route was suggested. The party, however, proceeded with the march from Balaji Hotel in the presence of heavy police security, raising slogans of 'M for Marathi, M for Mumbai, M for Mira-Bhayandar, and M for Maharashtra'. It concluded at Mira Road railway station around 2.30 p.m.
Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik, of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, went to participate in the protest but was heckled as 'traitor' and forced to leave the spot.
Meanwhile, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday targeted CM Fadnavis and Mr. Shinde, questioning their 'silence' over BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's veiled threat to MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray amid the ongoing language row in Maharashtra and attacks on non-Marathi-speaking people. The CM dubbed his party MP's comments 'inappropriate'.
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21 minutes ago
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According to US officials, Beijing has been providing Moscow with significant quantities of machine tools, drones and turbojet engines, microelectronics and nitrocellulose, which Russia uses to produce propellants for weapons. Not All Is Rosy However, the China-Russia partnership also has its limits, and they view each other with suspicion. A recently leaked report from the Russian intelligence agency, FSB, describes China as "the enemy". The FSB assessment, reported in the New York Times last month, calls China a serious threat to Russian security. "Beijing is increasingly trying to recruit Russian spies and get its hands on sensitive military technology, at times by luring disaffected Russian scientists," it says. The FSB report warns that China is trying to encroach on Russian territory in the Pacific, where the two countries have a long-running dispute. It also says that China is increasing its influence in Central Asia and spying on Russia's vast territory in the Arctic. The warning by the Russian secret agency suggests that given an opportunity, Moscow could be persuaded to loosen its ties with Beijing. Although India is currently not strong enough to replace China, Russia would like to strengthen strategic ties with New Delhi. Beijing has not provided Moscow with its unflinching diplomatic support since the Ukraine conflict. Like India, it has also abstained in most UN resolutions on Ukraine in the past three years. China has also been putting pressure, though unsuccessfully, to dissuade Russia from selling some of its advanced defence systems to India, such as the S-400 anti-missile defence shield. Weaning Putin Away From Xi Trump, meanwhile, has also been trying to wean Russia from China with his continuing attempts to woo Putin. A strong alliance between Moscow and Beijing is a serious challenge to Washington. But if Russia can be persuaded, America can focus on the Chinese challenge. Even before his election in November last year, Trump had declared that he wanted to "un-unite" Putin and Xi. To achieve that, he first wants to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict so that Moscow's dependence on China could be curtailed. But Putin doesn't yet trust Trump or the American establishment, where he is not seen as a friend. America's European allies also see Moscow as a greater threat than China, at least for now. How The Ukraine War Benefits Beijing Xi Jinping, however, is concerned about Trump's attempts to pull Putin away from China. In February, soon after Trump intensified efforts to end the Ukraine war, Xi affirmed China's "no-limit" partnership. It is in China's interest that Russia stays engaged in the war. The end of the Ukraine conflict could lead to an improvement in Russia's relations with the US and a reduction in its dependence on Beijing. The war is also depleting a lot of American military equipment given the constant supplies to Ukraine, something that suits Beijing. Peace with Ukraine can also lead to the lifting of American sanctions and help Russia rebuild its economy and redevelop its arms industry, which is currently forced to rely on China for many components. This will also benefit India as Indo-Russian defence projects will get a new lifeline. Any reduction in the Chinese footprint in Russia will be good news for India. Since the Ukraine war, the Modi government has remained neutral despite pressure from the West. It has also been helped by a cheap supply of oil from Russia, which increased from just 2% before the war to 40% by last year. But Xi is unlikely to let Putin escape from Beijing's clutches so easily. Last year, Russia-China trade reached a record $245 billion, 66% more than in 2021, a year before the start of the Ukraine war. This increase was largely driven by a surge in Chinese exports of civil-military dual-use goods. China is now Russia's largest buyer of crude oil, ahead of India. Fears In Washington No doubt, India and Russia's closer strategic partnership will be seen with suspicion in Washington and other Western countries. But India should be able to convince its Western partners that unlike China, India is not ganging up with Russia to threaten them, and that the real aim is to weaken Moscow's dependence on Beijing. As part of its multi-polar policy, India must also continue to deepen its strategic relationship with the United States, the only power still capable of countering China. India and the US need each other to deal with the Chinese threat. Americans know that India has never posed any security threat to them. Pakistan may be useful to them, but it can harm its security, as it has done in the past. It is, after all, for this reason that the US is reluctant to sell its advanced military systems to Pakistan.
