Hours after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked the Narendra Modi government to disclose how many students have been evacuated and how many are still stranded in Ukraine and urged the government to clearly communicate with their families, senior party leader and Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari slammed his own party leaders for “not hearing the cries of our children”.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Tewari questioned why Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu were silent about the plight of the students who were stranded and were not being allowed to board special trains out of the war–torn city of Kharkiv.
“I am appalled great leaders of @INCPunjab Congress are nowhere to be seen/heard when thousands of our children are in jeopardy. Is it only Punjab MP’s who have to do heavy lifting. Where is @CHARANJITCHANNI , @sherryontopp , @sunilkjakhar. , @Barmer_Harish. Is power be & end all?” asked Mr. Tewari.
He said “his head hangs in shame if this was the much touted Punjab Model” of his party and said there was a life beyond elections.
Mr. Tewari, along with other MPs including Jasbir S Gill, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Santokh Singh Chaudhary and Dr. Amar Singh, was part of the Punjab Congress MPs’ delegation that called on Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.
The Congress MP’s outburst came on a day when the principal Opposition party also launched “SpeakUpForStudents” campaign on social media to step up pressure on the Modi government for early evacuation of all Indian students from Ukraine.
The Narendra Modi government should disclose how many students have been evacuated and how many are still stranded there, Mr. Gandhi said on Wednesday, as he urged the government to clearly communicate with their families.
“To avert further tragedy, the Government of India (GoI) must share: How many students have been evacuated. How many are still stranded in Ukraine. Region-wise detailed evacuation plan. We owe a clear strategy and communication to the families involved,” Mr. Gandhi said on Twitter.
Also targeting the Modi government on Twitter, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “It is truly disheartening to see Narendra Modi government asleep even after the death of an Indian student!”
“Urgent steps should have been taken days ago, but our PM and his Ministers were busy finding “aapda mein avsar” and running their PR campaign even in the middle of a war crisis!” Mr. Kharge said.
Former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that danger to the lives of the Indian students has added a critical dimension to the conflict. “Friends’ fire that killed our young compatriot underscores need to hold further fire till evacuation is complete. Has India suggested that to both sides?” asked Mr. Khurshid on Twitter.
Launching the online campaign, the party’s official Twitter handle said, “Fake nationalism will only save their image, not the nation’s interests. Rise up, #SpeakUpForOurStudents. Call out the Modi government for its indifference. Call out the Modi government for its incompetence. Call out the Modi government for its utter insensitivity”.
The party’s students’ wing, National Students’ Union of India, also protested in the national capital to exert pressure on the government for taking urgent steps.
