Congress asks govt to ensure evacuation of Indians stuck in Ukraine

New Delhi, Feb 24: Congress on Thursday slammed the government for not being able to evacuate Indian students from Ukraine in time. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said the government must expedite evacuation. “The safety of  20,000 Indians stranded in Ukraine is paramount. Government must expedite their evacuation,” he said in a tweet. The Congress leader also shared a video of a student, who said fares on flights to India had been increased. “Yesterday, many of my friends were heading home from Kyiv, there was a blast on the way, they were stopped on the way. They tried to contact the Indian embassy, but there is no response. University is saying don’t panic… they don’t value our lives. Even our government does not value our lives,” the student said. “Even the tickets are costing Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 70,000. How can a middle-class family afford it?” she questioned. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also urged the government to ensure the return of the Indians from Ukraine. “The safety of Indians trapped in Ukraine is paramount for all of us. I request the government to speed up the efforts to bring back Indians quickly and safely,” she said. Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed the government for not doing enough, while party General Secretary KC Venugopal wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urging him to evacuate students from Kerala stuck in the war-stricken country. “Over 20,000 of our young students, our boys and girls are stuck in Ukraine. Repeatedly, Indian National Congress has asked the Modi Government to ensure immediate evacuation of our young students in Ukraine. Modi Government has neither ensured special flights for evacuation, neither ensured concessional fair, nor ensured Embassy help to our children,” Surjewala said. He also took attacked government over the latest advisory by Indian embassy in Ukraine which asled students to check google maps for nearest bomb shelter if required. “The absurd abdication of Indians, particularly young students, by Modi Govt has reached its ‘nadir’! The “NEW FARMAN” to Indians in #Ukrain -:“..hearing air sirens/bomb warnings. Google maps for list of bomb shelters.” he said in a Tweet. “This is BJP’s ‘Atamnirbhar India’ for citizens in peril,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday declared martial law in the country after Russia started a military operation against Ukraine in Kiev, explosions were heard at Boryspil International Airport and other places across the city as per reports. The country’s airspace was closed to civilian aircraft.