Referring to the Lok Sabha election due next year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wished “our friends every success” and stressed that “traditional conventional friendly ties” will persist between New Delhi and Moscow “no matter what the alignment of political forces” is.

Putin, who made the remarks during a meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia.

He also said he had spoken to the Prime Minister on the developments in Ukraine. “Many times, I advised him of how things have been going there and I know that he (PM Modi) is willing to do his utmost so that the issue is resolved by peaceful means,” he said, indicating that India will Russia will continue to discuss the issue.

The Russian President said Moscow is “gratified to note that despite all the turmoil happening worldwide, the relationship with our true friend in Asia, India has been progressing incrementally”.

“Definitely, we will be glad to see our dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paying a visit to Russia, we will be able to discuss all the relevant, current issues and talk to the prospects of the Russian and Indian relationship,” he said.

The Russian president asked Dr Jaishankar to convey his greetings to the Prime Minister. “And please, tell him that we want to see him,” he said. Putin, however, noted that India will have a “busy political schedule” next year. “The general elections in parliament are scheduled for next year. We wish our friends every success in that and we hope that… anyway, no matter what the alignment of political forces would be, the traditional conventional friendly ties will persist between our nations,” the Russian President said.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, India has maintained that the resolution needs to be found through dialogue. New Delhi has spoken to, and met, Putin as well as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the conflict. In his meeting with the Ukraine President earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi said India will do whatever it can to resolve the conflict. During a meeting with Putin in Samarkand in 2021, the Prime Minister told him this is “not an era of war”.

India has also resisted pressure from the West to join the camp against Moscow. Despite global criticism, India continued to buy Russian oil after the West brought sanctions against Moscow for invading Ukraine. In an interview to NDTV, Dr Jaishankar had said the Prime Minister told him to “do whatever is needed for the benefit of the country”.

“We must build relations with the world. But when it comes to what benefits us, we should not back down. I should not expose our people to fuel inflation if I can find a way. The Prime Minister had said, ‘take a stand that benefits India’. We did that,” the minister said.

The External Affairs Minister has, on several occasions, questioned how Europe could prioritise its energy needs and expect India to act differently.

Every country, he had said, was trying to get the best possible deal for its citizens and to cushion the impact of high energy prices, and India was no different.

DMDK founder-leader and popular yesteryear Tamil actor Vijayakanth died in Chennai on Thursday following an illness. He was 71 years old. 

Earlier in the day, the party informed through a post on its official X handle that Vijayakanth was admitted to a hospital and put on ventilator support after he complained of breathing problems.

His body was brought to his residence and will be taken to the DMDK office shortly.

Earlier, in November, Vijayakanth was admitted to MIOT Hospital in Chennai as his health deteriorated.

Suffering from cough and throat pain, he was under the observation of doctors for 14 days.

Widely known as ‘Captain’, Vijayakanth’s life is marked by a successful career in the Tamil film industry.

He featured in 154 movies before venturing into politics.

While holding a position at Nadigar Sangam (officially known as the South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA)), Vijayakanth brought revolutionary changes to the South film industry.

He founded Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazgam in 2005.

In 2006, DMDK contested in all assembly seats and bagged a lowly 10 per cent of the total vote share. However, none of the party’s candidates, apart from the founder-leader came out on the winning side.

In 2011, DMDK fought the elections in alliance with the AIADMK and contested 41 constituencies, winning 26.

The Captain’s party scripted history, winning more seats than the DMK in 2011 and emerged as the principal Opposition Party that year.

Vijayakanth served as the leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 2011-2016.

Later, owing to differences of opinion, the DMDK broke ties with the AIADMK, resulting in bulk resignations of DMDK MLAs.

The party, therefore, lost its status of being the main Opposition party.

He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly twice, representing the Virudhachalam and Rishivandiyam constituencies.

The DMDK contested the 2014 parliament elections in alliance with the NDA but faced a huge defeat and its vote percentage saw a significant drop.

In the 2016, 2019 and 2021 elections, the DMDK didn’t perform well as Vijayakanth battled health complications.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A Mumbai resident filed a complaint against Ranbir Kapoor and his family after a viral Christmas video didn’t sit well with them. The complaint, available online, alleges that the Kapoors intentionally offended Hindu sentiments by pouring liquor on a cake and setting it on fire, and invoking Hindu deities during a non-Hindu festival.

As of now, no formal FIR has been filed, although the complainant seeks action under sections 295(A), 298, 500, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The individual, represented by lawyers Ashish Rai and Pankaj Mishra, claims that the video depicts Ranbir pouring liquor on a cake while saying “Jai Mata Di,” which, according to Hindu practices, holds significance when invoking deities. The complaint suggests that the use of intoxicants during a celebration of a different faith, accompanied by the chant, caused offence and hurt religious sentiments.

The annual Kapoor family Christmas lunch became noteworthy as Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt introduced their daughter, Raha Kapoor, to the public on this occasion.