NEW DELHI: The day the last batch of Indian students was moved out of Ukraine, the BJP came out guns blazing against Congress. The ruling party accused the main opposition of its “misleading” politics over the government’s evacuation efforts.
Lashing out at Congress, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “It is extremely unfortunate that some Congress leaders and chief ministers tried to create misleading propaganda and defame the government, when the entire effort of the government was focussed on safe evacuation of students.”
Goyal was addressing a media conference, with fellow Union minister Anurag Thakur. Goyal alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was spreading false information.
“When the country was leaving no stone unturned to bring back the students stranded in war-hit Ukraine, some leaders of Congress including Rahul Gandhi not only tried to defame the government but also made some comments on Russia,” union minister said.
He also said that whenever the country faced a crisis, the stand of Congress leaders has never been supportive.
“This party has started doing politics of such a low level.”
Goyal said Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself oversaw Operation Ganga to ensure safe evacuation.
“The PM chaired eight high-level meetings and spoke 11 times to global leaders, thrice to Russian President Vladimir Putin and two times to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”
He said the PM’s bold initiative has enhanced India’s prestige, as many students of other countries have left Ukraine carrying Indian flags.
“It is a matter of pride for us that almost all Indian students and others have been evacuated in the last three weeks.”
Goyal said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spent many sleepless nights to ensure the safe evacuation of the students. Goyal also said that when countries like China floundered in the evacuation process, India did it successfully.