India News | Urgently Carry out Evacuation of Indian Students from Ukraine: Rahul Gandhi to Govt

New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday highlighted the plight of Indian students stranded in Ukraine and appealed to the Central government to evacuate them urgently.

He shared a video of some Indian students from Karnataka who were stuck in a bunker in the country, which is under attack from the Russian forces.

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The former Congress chief also sent a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging him to take immediate steps to bring back thousands of Indians? from Wayanad stranded in Ukraine.

"Visuals of Indian students in bunkers are disturbing. Many are stuck in eastern Ukraine which is under heavy attack. My thoughts are with their worried family members. Again, I appeal to Government of India to execute urgent evacuation," Gandhi said on Twitter.

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Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also said that the situation in Ukraine is such that students are trying to save their lives in the freezing cold and there are long queues outside embassies and missions which are allegedly providing no response.

"Indian citizens and students are helpless without any help and guidance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no roadmap to deal with this problem immediately.

"The Congress party demands from the Prime Minister that he should immediately make all possible efforts to bring back Indian citizens trapped in difficult circumstances by talking to the governments of Russia and Ukraine," Surjewala said in a statement.

In the video shared by Gandhi, a student Meghna from Bangalore said there are many people who have come from different places in India to Ukraine.

"We do need help from the Indian government. We cannot see anyone taking steps, or any higher officials or Indian government, to help us. No special flights have been arranged for us," she said in a video message from a dark bunker.

"We have been staying in this bunker. It is really hard for all of us. Please, request you to send us help as soon as possible," she said.

She also said the shops have been closed down and they have been stuck in the bunker for over 24 hours without food, water and even proper ventilation.

Another student Raksha said, "We request our Indian embassy and our Indian government please help us out. Please evacuate all Indian students."

She said there are more than 15,000 students stranded stuck in the country.

"Please help us out. We need help."

The video showed some students sitting on the floor in the bunker. The video ended with a child named Rishu, who said Meghna is his sister, appealing for help.

"My sister is stuck in Ukraine. Can you please help her. I need your help. I want her back," he said.

In his letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Gandhi said, "This is an urgent appeal to assist Indian students waiting to be evacuated from Ukraine.

"I am deeply concerned by the grave threat to their safety and security posed by the events unfolding in Ukraine".

He said several thousand students are currently pursuing their higher education in Ukraine, including many from his Parliamentary constituency Wayanad.

"Given the massive escalation in the conflict coupled with the looming uncertainty, the Indian students have desperately sought help from the Indian government.

"In light of these circumstances, I request you to extend assistance to ensure their safety, and take all possible measures to evacuate them on priority," he said.

Gandhi and his party has been urging the government to act swiftly to evacuate all Indians stuck in Ukraine.

Surjewala in his statement said protecting the life and property of its citizens is the biggest responsibility of any government. But, an unfortunate situation is there in Ukraine where all governments are giving highest priority to safety of their citizens.

"But the Modi government which boasts of becoming 'Wishwaguru', has left its 20,000 citizens, including children and students, to fend for themselves in the midst of rockets, cannons and missiles. Far from bringing them back home safely, our Ministry of External Affairs is putting their lives at risk even more by issuing conflicting advisories to them," he said.

He also alleged that the Indian government did not evacuate Indian citizens from Ukraine in time, and then when the war started and Ukraine's airspace was closed, in the absence of any alternative arrangement by the Indian embassy, Indians were forced to reach the border of neighboring countries so that they could return home.

But after the financially troubled Indians reached the borders, an advisory was issued for them to stay where they are and contact the Indian missions for help.

"Today the situation is that when our people taking shelter in bunkers and underground metro stations are trying to contact the missions, no one picks up the phone and no official is available to help them," he alleged.

The Congress has also criticised the government's response to distress calls from students in that country and accused it of inaction.

With Russian troops advancing on Kyiv and other key cities, India on Saturday asked its nationals stranded in Ukraine to exercise caution at all times and not move towards any border post to exit the country without prior coordination with its officials.

The Indian embassy in Ukraine issued a fresh advisory for the Indian citizens as the overall ground situation deteriorated further with gunfire, bombings and missile attacks continuing to rock various parts of the country, including its capital Kyiv.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)