PM Modi missing in action, says Rahul Gandhi on Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine

New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): Levelling allegation against Indian government of not taking effective steps to bring Indians stranded in Ukraine amid ongoing Russian military operations in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “missing in action.” Sharing a video of a student stranded in Ukraine, the Wayanad MP tweeted, “Conditions of Indians stranded in Ukraine are worsening. Yet, GOI is not taking effective steps to bring them home. As usual, PM is MIA (missing in action).”

In the video, the student can be seen sharing the name of an official who allegedly works at the Indian embassy. The students alleged that the official kept “rejecting call” even after they shared videos of girls being allegedly beaten at the Romanian border. “They are completely ignoring us,” the student said. “Governments of all countries have evacuated their citizens but the Indian government is doing nothing for us. They are saying they are evacuating the Indian citizens from the border. The border is 800 km from our current location. How are we as a student supposed to reach those borders?” the girl said in the video.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi also shared the same video and criticized the government for its efforts over the prevailing situation in Ukraine. “By not taking the right decision at the right time, more than 15,000 students are still stuck in the battlefield amid huge chaos. Their safe return by taking concrete strategic and diplomatic action is not a favor but our responsibility. Opportunity should not be found in every disaster,” the BJP MP tweeted.

The union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched operation Ganga to bring back stranded students and Indian citizens from the conflict-torn Ukraine. Special flights are being operated by Air India under “Operation Ganga”.

India has evacuated over 8,000 nationals since the initial advisories were issued by the country, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He also informed that the six evacuation flight have landed in India bringing back around 1400 citizens.

On February 24, PM Modi had chaired a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting in New Delhi on the Ukraine crisis. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister called a high-level meeting over the prevailing situation in Ukraine which was attended by External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Foreign Secretary of India Harsh V Shringla, other ministers, and a host of senior bureaucrats.

The Prime Minister chaired another high-level meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Monday evening. (ANI)