Congress criticises PM Modi over election campaign amid Ukraine crisis

|HT|

With thouands of Indians in Ukraine, waiting to return to their homes, the Congress on Sunday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the election campaign in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, his parlimantary constituency. The Prime Minister is in Varanasi on Sunday for public meetings, including the one with the BJP workers. Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said that the government was losing its focus amid the Ukraine crisis. "In the midst of missile attacks and explosions, thousands of students - thirsty and hungry - are spending time with bated breaths in bunkers. But here campaigners are focusing on only elections. The hunger of power has robbed them of sensitivity. Why is the country helpless yet again?" the 54-year-old leader wrote in Hindi. He shared two news reports- the first talking about students from Madhya Pradesh stranded in Ukraine and the second about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Uttar Pradesh amid the fifth phase of elections. On Saturday, the Congress spokesperson said that the Centre had no road map to deal with the escalating crisis.

Apart from Randeep Surjewala, Congress's ex chief Rahul Gandhi also censured the Centre over the issue. Gandhi tweeted on Friday that the Modi government's strategic mistakes will prove to be very costly. He also shared videos of Indian students taking refuge in bunkers in Ukraine. On Saturday, the Congress leader requested the Centre to execute an urgent evacuation of students stuck 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 the Government of India to execute urgent evacuation (sic)," Gandhi tweeted.

The Congress leader also requested foreign minister S Jaishankar to repatriate Indians from his parliamentary constituency Wayanad stranded in Ukraine.

The Centre has been sending special flights to Ukraine to evacuate the citizens stuck in Ukraine. Amid a closure of Ukrainian airspace for civilian flights, the Centre established evacuation routes from Hungary and Romania.

Under Operation Ganga, an Air India flight carrying 219 Indians landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening from Romania's Bucharest. Another flight from Bucharest is expected to land on Sunday at 4 pm.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)