Commonality of understanding about India's position: Ravi Shankar Prasad on Italy's support in fight against terrorism
Rome [Italy], May 29 (ANI): BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is leading a multi-party delegation to Italy on Wednesday (local time) highlighted the success of delegation's meeting with Italian parliamentarians and said that there was commonality of understanding about India's position against terrorism.
Speaking with ANI, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, 'We had a very good meeting with the India caucus in the National Assembly and the Senate, it was a brilliant exchange. What is a matter of great assurance for us is that there was a commonality of understanding about India's position and also Italy's vis-a-vis the cancer of global terror. India and Italy have a good relationship. They also assured their commitment to work with us for the cause of peace and amity...'
Additionally, Former Deputy NSA and Ambassador Pankaj Saran, who is also part of the delegation, said that Italy appreciated India's restraint in not escalating the conflict with Pakistan.
Saran also added that Italy recognised India's right to self-defence and target terrorists during Operation Sindoor.
'What I liked very much was the comment by I will not say by whom, but one of them, they appreciated the Indian restraint and the fact that we did not escalate. But they recognised our right to self-defence and to target the terrorists. That, for me, is very encouraging. Also, I think we are putting across very clearly that the problem is terrorism; there can be no justification. We have also really highlighted the link between terrorism and state sponsorship in Pakistan. And I think that message has gone home very well,' Pankaj Saran said.
India's Ambassador to Italy, Vani Rao said, 'Its a crucial visit and for us, there are many takeaways. First, it was an engagement after a critical incident in India and a significant policy shift in terms of terrorism. Having the MPs here gave us an opportunity to address the other Parliamentarians, think tanks, media, and the Indian community, and to speak to them that the nation speaks in one voice, and we are very unwavering in our commitment to address terrorism. It was also an opportunity to convey that our strategic partnership with Italy was very important.'
Earlier in the day, Ravi Shankar Prasad-led delegation interacted with India-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group, chaired by Senator Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata in Rome.
The delegation also held meeting with President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and European Commission of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, Giulio Tremonti.
The delegation, led by Prasad, includes Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya from BJP, Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena-UBT, Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh from Congress, MJ Akbar, and Ambassador Pankaj Saran.
All of the seven delegations are on a diplomatic mission to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism supported by Pakistan. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Gujarat Confidential: JCB to the rescue
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Thursday distributed 50 JCB machines among the needy youths of Bharwad community. The function was being held by Bharwad Yuva Sangathan at Town Hall in Gandhinagar. According to a press release, the CM during the event said that when the government gets cooperation from the society in making the youths self-reliant, the speed of development gets doubled. Incidentally, the programme has been organised at a time when JCB machines are being used a lot to remove the encroachments across the state. Three Gujarat cadre IAS officers are in London as part of the Indian delegation to discuss the prospects of Gujarat hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The development is being seen as a stepping stone to the state hoping to host the Olympics in 2036. Principal Secretary of Urban Development and Housing (UDD) Ashwani Kumar, Principal Secretary for Sports M Thennarasan and Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani are part of the delegation.
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Match-fixing will come to Bihar next': Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP over Maharashtra polls; alleges 'rigging'
NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday again accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of engaging in "poll rigging". Citing last year's Maharashtra polls, he cautioned against similar "match-fixing" activities by the saffron party in the upcoming Bihar polls. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "How to steal an election? Maharashtra assembly elections in 2024 were a blueprint for rigging democracy," he said as he went on to list out the alleged sequence. He noted that the alleged tampering begins by "rigging the panel for appointing the Election Commission". Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll Step 3: Inflate voter turnout Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where BJP needs to win Step 5: Hide the evidence "It's not hard to see why the BJP was so desperate in Maharashtra. But rigging is like match-fixing - the side that cheats might win the game, but damages institutions and destroy public faith in the result. All concerned Indians must see the evidence. Judge for themselves. Demand answers. Because the match-fixing of Maharashtra will come to Bihar next, and then anywhere the BJP is losing. Match-fixed elections are a poison for any democracy," he added. The opposition parties have consistently raised the allegations of poll rigging in Maharashtra polls, with leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge even calling for a going back to ballot paper system terming electronic voting machines (EVMs) as "fraud" and something that put the opposition at "disadvantage". The Election Commission, has however, rejected Rahul's charge of unexpected voter's spike in the Maharashtra polls calling it "nothing unusual". "During the assembly elections in Maharashtra 6,40,87,588 electors, who reached the polling station from 7 am to 6 pm, voted. About 58 lakh votes were polled per hour, on an average. Going by these average trends, nearly 116 lakh voters could have voted in the last two hours. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Therefore, casting of 65 lakh votes by electors in two hours is much below the average hourly voting trends," a senior EC functionary had said earlier this year. They also pointed out that Congress's own polling agents were present at every booth during the elections and did not raise any credible complaints about irregular voting — neither during the scrutiny by returning officers nor before election observers the following day.
India.com
39 minutes ago
- India.com
Pakistan humiliated again as US MP gives stern warning to Bilawal Bhutto's delegation, says, 'Eliminate terrorism and...'
Pakistan humiliated again as US MP gives stern warning to Bilawal Bhutto's delegation, says, 'Eliminate terrorism and...' Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is leading a team of experts to inform the world about the recent conflict with India, has been facing humiliation throughout his US tour. US lawmaker Brad Sherman gave a strong message to Pakistan and said that it should take decisive action against the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He described this terrorist organization as vile and said that this group is responsible for many heinous crimes including the murder of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. While meeting the Pakistani delegation led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Washington, Sherman said that Pakistan should take all possible steps to completely eliminate this despicable terrorist organization and fight strongly against terrorism in the region. Interestingly, Indian delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is also present in Washington, which is briefed the US officials about 'Operation Sindoor' and the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam. India has blamed Pakistan-backed terrorists for this attack and has reiterated its zero tolerance policy towards cross-border terrorism. Brad Sherman on X said, 'I told the Pakistani delegation the importance of the fight against terrorism, especially against the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which killed Daniel Pearl, a resident of my constituency, in 2002. His family still lives in California. Terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl.' Role of Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed is declared a banned terrorist organization by the United Nations and is also believed to be responsible for several major attacks in India, including the 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 Indian soldiers were martyred. Apart from terrorism, Brad Sherman also expressed concern over the condition of minorities in Pakistan. He said that Christians, Hindus and Ahmadiya Muslims in Pakistan should get complete freedom to follow their faith without fear and participate in the democratic system. Demand for release of Dr. Shakeel Afridi The US lawmaker also demanded the release of Dr. Shakeel Afridi, who allegedly ran a fake polio vaccination campaign to find Osama bin Laden with the help of the CIA, was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to 33 years. Sherman said that the release of Dr. Afridi would be a big step towards justice and closure to the victims of 9/11.
