National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday lashed out at the Centre over a US waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, saying that the country should take decisions on its own and nobody should decide for it. CPM senior leader and MLA MY Tarigami has also urged India to condemn US-Israel strikes on Iran.
ย
“We are not dependent. The tragedy is I do not know why they are making us dependent. It is a question of the independence of this country,” a visibly angry Farooq Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.He said the country has to decide what is good for it, and nobody else should decide its future.
ย
“This is a tragedy. We have noticed before also during (prime minister) Manmohan Singh (tenure). America wanted India to vote for it and they said if you don’t, the nuclear deal will be in trouble.”You know what Singh said? He said it is a decision of India and India will make its own decision, we will do that what is good for the country,” the NC chief added.
ย
India also confirmed on Saturday that it is continuing to import Russian oil following a temporary waiver granted by the United States. The waiver was issued because of the war in the Middle East. ย
ย
Meanwhile, senior CPI-M leader and Kulgam MLA M Y Tarigami on Saturday appealed to the Centre to condemn the US-Israeli aggression on Iran, saying Tehran and New Delhi shared traditional relations and had supported each other in difficult times.โI want to appeal to the government of India that we have traditional relations with Iran and have supported each other in difficult times. But today, I do not know why, we are either silent or taking sides.
ย
โI am pained at what our own people are doing. I want to appeal to the leadership of our country that it should condemn this barbarism and the agenda of genocide of the US and Israel,โ Tarigami told reporters.India should also work to stop the war, he added.โOtherwise, if it (the conflict in West Asia) continues, no country will survive in the region. It should be our endeavour to put out this fire and try to use our impact to persuade the powers that started this,” he added.
ย
Tarigami also called for releasing those arrested during protests in Kashmir against the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.โRegistering FIRs against the protesters who were in grief and detaining them was unwarranted and an injustice. I appeal to the J-K administration to withdraw the FIRs and release all those who were arrested during these protests,โ the CPI-M leader said.
ย