AHMEDABAD: The Congress accused the BJP-led government today of not doing enough to evacuate Indian sailors stranded in Yemen, even as Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel who spoke to External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the government is working to evacuate them.
Meanwhile, a sailor stranded in Khokha port told PTI that the procedure to evacuate them is on.
Nearly 70 sailors from Gujarat's Kutch and Jamnagar districts have been stranded in crisis-hit Yemen for more than 15 days.
Congress spokesperson and MLA from Abdasa in Kutch, Shaktisinh Gohil alleged today that the BJP-led central government has not made proper arrangements to evacuate stranded sailors.
"I had sent a detailed representation to the Ministry of External Affairs, but with great grief, I have to say that no proper arrangements have been made for stranded sailors," Gohil told reporters.
"The Gujarat government should give compensation to relatives of those who have lost their lives (in Yemen), and the union government should take this issue to the international level to give proper compensation to the deceased," Gohil said.
However, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said that the Indian government is working on evacuation of 70 Indian sailors.
"Government of India is working to ensure their safe return. I hope and pray that they will soon be united with their families," Patel said on micro-blogging site Twitter today.