Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa on Sunday tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to request for food and other assistance for Indian students and claimed that India’s Ambassador to Ukraine didn’t respond to his calls.
Sharing a video on his Twitter handle showing a group of Indian students stranded in Kyiv, Mr Bajwa said, “@narendramodi ji I have received desperate calls for help from Indian students stranded in Kyiv, Ukraine. They are in need of food & to be evacuated from the city immediately. There are 174 students who have taken shelter in School No. 169, Kyiv, right next to Embassy of India”.
In a separate series of tweets, Mr. Bajwa urged EAM, Dr. Jaishankar, to intervene and expedite their evacuation.
“Dr. S. Jaishankar ji, the Indian Ambassador in Kyiv, Sh. Satpathy has unfortunately not responded to my desperate calls for aid to 174 students stranded in Kyiv, right next door to the Embassy of India. The students have received no help from the Embassy and are in need of food and to be evacuated immediately. I urge you to get to direct the Ambassador to ensure the safety and security of these students,” Mr. Bajwa said.
Referring to a news report of the Indian embassy giving “wrong advisory” to the students, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala questioned the Modi government’s evacuation plan.
“Can the PM & BJP Govt see, feel or comprehend the plight and fear of thousands of our boys and girls stuck in -5 degree on #Ukraine - Poland Border and in Kharkiv & other areas of eastern Ukraine. What’s the plan to assist our children? Does Modi Govt have an evacuation plan?” asked Mr. Surjewala.
Senior leader Anand Sharma, who heads the Foreign Affairs department of the Congress party, described the military conflict as a matter of grave concern and urged the international community to work together for cessation of armed conflict and restoration of peace.
“The path of diplomatic negotiations must be embraced in all sincerity for a negotiated resolution of all issues between Russia and Ukraine respecting the MINSK and Russia - NATO agreements and earlier understandings. UN charter must be upheld by all countries,”Mr Sharma said in a statement.
In a related development, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury criticised the Prime Minister’s Saturday statement that the private sector in India should get into medical education in a big way so that students don’t have to study in foreign countries.
“India’s misfortune that PM is so distanced from ground realities. Most students going for medical education to socialist/former socialist countries go because it is less costlier than private medical education in India. Open more govt medical colleges,” tweeted Mr. Yechury.
