The Congress party steered clear of commenting on the Centre’s decision to abstain from voting on a resolution against Russia at the United Nations Security Council, focusing instead on the delay in evacuating Indian citizens from Ukraine. In contrast to the party’s reticence, senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari have slammed the government, for taking the abstention route.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Tharoor said that India’s decision to abstain does not come as a surprise, since, in an earlier statement on the conflict, the government refrained from mentioning Russia as a “wrong-doer” and made it clear that the country was going to put friendship with Russia first.
He asked, “But if ‘friends’ can’t speak honestly to each other, what is the friendship worth?”
Mr. Tharoor said many regret that India had placed itself on the “wrong side of history”. “The language Indian diplomats have used from the start of the crisis has sought to elude the bare fact that this was an invasion... and our statements have tried to impact a curious even-handedness to the crisis. New Delhi has sought ‘de-escalation’ as if both countries were belligerents, when one is clearly the aggressor and the other its victim,” he said.
Mr. Tewari, in a tweet, expressed similar sentiments. “There comes a time when nations need to stand up and not stand aside. I sincerely wish India had voted in solidarity with people of Ukraine at UNSC who are facing an unprecedented & unjustified aggression. ‘Friends’ need to be told when they are wrong,” he said.
There is a view within the party that in case of such international crises, the Congress should not, needlessly, take a contrarian position.
Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma said that in the current situation every effort should be made for diplomatic and negotiated resolution of the conflict. “The focus should be to ensure cessation of hostilities at the earliest and establishment of peace. The Minsk agreement between the two sides and earlier agreements between NATO and Russia should be respected,” he said.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, flagged the plight of students stuck in bunkers in Ukraine and he urged the government to execute urgent evacuation. Later in the evening, general secretary of communications Randeep Surjewala, in a statement here, raised the same issue. He alleged that the Indian government was the last to wake up to the possibility of an armed conflict. He pointed out that many countries across the world had issued instructions to its citizens to leave Ukraine in January.
“India issued the first advisory on February 15 asking for details of Indians residing in various parts of the country. The other countries had carried out this exercise about a month in advance,” he said.
