STATE TIMES NEWS
Sonbhadra/ Ghazipur (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India has been able to evacuate its citizens from war-hit Ukraine because of its rising power and assured the country that his government will leave no stone unturned for the safe return of all Indians stranded there.
Addressing election rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra and Ghazipur districts, Modi spoke of the government’s rescue efforts in the wake of the Russian military offensive against Ukraine and also underlined the need for India to become self-reliant.
“The dynasts question our vaccine, they question our armed forces and make fun of ‘Make in India’. Such people have shamed the country and its people. They can’t make India strong,” he said.
Holds high-level meet on crisis
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday night on the Ukraine crisis as India stepped up its efforts to evacuate its citizens, mostly students, from the country under attack from Russia.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Cabinet colleague Piyush Goyal besides senior officials attended the meeting.
Modi has held a series of meetings since Sunday to spearhead India’s efforts to safely bring back its nationals, asserting that this is his government’s top priority.
Earlier in the day, the Indian embassy in Ukraine asked all Indian nationals to leave Kharkiv immediately to safe zones or further westwards.
The external affairs ministry has assured that every Indian citizen will be brought back from Ukraine.
Asserting that the country has made it a priority to rescue all Indians stuck in Ukraine, Modi said, “It is due to India’s rising strength that we are able to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine. Operation Ganga has been launched and I have sent four ministers to oversee the evacuation.
“Our army and air force have also been deployed to rescue Indians in distress faster. Today I also assure the people of the country that the Government of India will leave no stone unturned for the safe return of its citizens.” Modi also mentioned Manoj Sinha, a native of Ghazipur who is presently Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, in his Ghazipur rally.
Talking about poverty in Purvanchal, Modi said, “Whenever I come to Ghazipur I remember former MP Vishwanath Singh Gahmari. When the government was led by Jawaharlal Nehru, Vishwanath Gahmari told parliament that people in Purvanchal are forced to remove wheat grains from cattle dung to eat due to poverty.”
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in Pune the Indian government had issued advisory to Indian nationals before February 24, asking them to leave Ukraine if it wasn’t essential for them to stay on.
Urging the parents not to panic, he said of 20,000 Indians stranded in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, 6,000 have been brought back safely, and the government is making all efforts to ensure safe return of the rest.
The minister, who met the parents of some students who are stuck in Ukraine here, was speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of an event.
“There were around 20,000 students and other citizens who were stranded in Ukraine. Of them, 4,000 were brought back to India before February 24. Additional 2,000 students were brought back to India till Tuesday and efforts are on to evacuate the remaining Indians stuck there,” he said.
“Earlier, through an advisory, we had advised the students in Kyiv to leave the city and proceed to the western borders. As per the latest information we are receiving in Kharkiv, from time to time advisories are being issued to the students assessing the seriousness of the ground situation,” he added.
Around 1,200 students have already left Kharkiv and reached train stations or are already in transit, the minister said.
“Before February 24, when the conflict situation started in Ukraine, around 4,000 students had already returned to India. Till yesterday, around 9,000 students have either reached India or already crossed the Ukrainian border,” he said.
The minister denied allegations that there was a delay in starting the evacuation process.
“I talked to some parents and they told me that their children were not in the position to leave Ukraine before February 24 as the universities and colleges were conducting off-line classes,” he said.
The Indian government had issued an advisory before February 24 asking those for whom it was not necessary to stay in Ukraine to leave the country, he said.
“On that basis, around 4,000 people returned to India before February 24,” Muraleedharan added.
With the help of Ukraine’s neighbouring countries Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, the students were being evacuated to India, he said.
The Union government has launched ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine. Asked about Shiv Sena’s allegation that the name `Ganga’ was being used keeping Uttar Pradesh elections is mind, he said, “It is not a political issue. It is a national issue. It is pertaining to the safety of Indian citizens. There should not be any objection to the name.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Muraleedharan said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to the countries which share border with Ukraine, and the foreign secretary has held two rounds of discussions with the Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors in Delhi and requested them to facilitate the evacuation of Indian students, he said.
“I would like to request Indian parents not to panic. The Indian government is committed to bringing all the students and citizens of India back safely,” the minister said.
Asked about allegations that Indian students were being harassed by Ukrainians while crossing the borders, he said no such incidents were happening at present, but there might have been such occurances earlier.
The Indian mission in Kyiv is constantly assessing the situation and issuing advisories to Indian nationals in the country, Muraleedharan said.
Four senior ministers are currently camping in countries adjacent to Ukraine and coordinating Operation Ganga, he said.