English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

Is India’s optimism over Iran’s Chabahar port grossly misplaced?

Published

on

Chabahar-challenge

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Seema Guha

US President Donald Trump’s hardline strategy against Iran could severely impact India’s hopes of enhancing trade and commerce through the Chabahar port

The first shipment of wheat from India was sent last week to the Iran’s Chabahar port and then onwards by rail and road to Afghanistan. This marks New Delhi’s attempt to avoid Pakistan, which does not allow Indian goods to transit its territory.

The fact that the long delayed project is at last taking shape, has led to general euphoria on all sides and a somewhat misplaced expectation of steadily increasing the volumes on this route. The grain sent out to Afghanistan from a port in Gujarat was a gift from the people of India to the citizens of Afghanistan.

“The shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternative, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan. It will open up new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between the three countries (India, Iran and Afghanistan) and the wider region,” the statement released by the ministry of external affairs noted. But this is an unrealistic and overtly optimistic assumption.

With US President Donald Trump ready to tear up the landmark nuclear agreement signed in 2015, chances of fresh sanctions being slapped on Iran by the US Congress are very high. Once this happens it will be difficult for both India and Afghanistan not to heed US pressure.

Though Delhi as a rule does not pay heed to sanctions, unless they are mandated by the UN Security Council, the US has found a way to deal with this. From past experience it has learnt how best to target companies doing business with Iran. To make the sanctions effective, the US had earlier decreed that any company doing business with Iran cannot operate in the US. It cannot also have any dealings with American financial institutions. With America still the world’s largest economy and its financial clout spread across the world, it is difficult for any company to continue dealing with Iran. No company or government is in a position to turn its back on the US, unless there are political motivations.

For India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, bent to take relations with the US to a new unprecedented height, the question of not supporting US will not arise. The stakes are too high, more so because Washington is now promising to deliver high-tech defence technology so long denied to India.

One of Donald Trump’s election promises was to walk out of the Obama sponsored Iran nuclear deal. He has already taken the first step in this direction, by refusing to certify Iran’s compliance to the agreement. Though the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is on the ground in Iran, inspecting every aspect of the country’s nuclear program, had certified three times that Tehran has stuck to the agreement, Trump refused to certify it. Now he has asked the US Congress to come up with fresh ideas to make the deal much more stringent and slap nuclear sanctions against Iran.

Despite the fact that other countries, who were part of the agreement like France, Germany, UK, Russia, China as well as the EU are lobbying hard to keep the agreement intact, the US remains adamant. President Trump has also warned that if lawmakers refuse to act, he has the executive powers to enforce his will. So despite the fact that European countries, China and Russia are all opposed to Trump’s move, he can well wreck the deal and impose fresh sanctions on Iran.

This is why despite India’s optimism, using Chabahar for growing trade with Afghanistan seems doomed to fail. This, so long as Donald Trump continues to be adamant. Chances of Trump changing his views are remote. More so, because he is pleasing Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Sunni powers worried about Iran assuming its rightful place in the world.

The idea of using the Iranian port for trade with Afghanistan took shape in 2003, during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s term as prime minister. Thanks to crippling sanctions slapped by the US on trading with Iran, the project never had a chance to take off. When sanctions were lifted after the nuclear agreement another bilateral agreement was signed between India and Iran for the development of both the port and railway track to transport the goods to Afghanistan.

India has already constructed a road from Delaram in Afghanistan to Zaranj at the Iran-Afghanistan border at the cost of $134 million. This road would help to carry goods by road from the Iranian border to different destinations in Afghanistan.

Developing an alternative trade route as not to be held hostage by Pakistan was a good idea. But the US-Iran relations have hit this project hard. Earlier it was delayed because of sanctions and now it is unlikely to take off as relations between the US and Iran deteriorate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Manipur: Congress hits back at BJP chief Nadda’s letter to Kharge

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

Published

on

The Congress on Friday lashed out at BJP president JP Nadda’s accusations that the Opposition party was promoting a politically motivated narrative concerning the situation in Manipur.

The grand old party described Nadda’s letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as a 4D exercise, which means denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation.

Nadda, responding to Kharge’s call for President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention and his claims of the Centre’s total failure in managing the crisis, claimed that the consequences of Congress’s “abject failure” in handling local issues in Manipur during its governance are still being felt today.

Responding to Nadda, Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh stated, “Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently, to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President.”

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

He noted that they are posed with four critical questions: When will the Prime Minister visit the state? How much longer will the Chief Minister remain in office despite lacking majority support? When will a full-time Governor be appointed? And when will the Union Home Minister be held accountable for his failures in Manipur?

Nadda expressed astonishment at the Congress’s ongoing efforts to sensationalize the situation in Manipur, pointing out that Kharge appeared to overlook the fact that his party’s past government had legitimized the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, during which former Home Minister P Chidambaram had signed relevant treaties.

On Tuesday, Kharge had written to President Murmu regarding the worsening conditions in Manipur, requesting her immediate intervention to ensure that the citizens of the state can live peacefully and with dignity.

In his two-page letter, Kharge accused both the Union and Manipur state governments of “completely failing” to restore peace and normalcy over the past 18 months, resulting in a loss of public confidence in their leadership.

Continue Reading

India News

Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

Published

on

RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

Continue Reading

India News

Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

Published

on

Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

Continue Reading

Trending

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com