NEW DELHI: Indians coming to Russia to fight as soldiers are aware of where they are going and not being hoodwinked into working for the army, says Abhay Kumar Singh, a lawmaker (equivalent to an MLA) in Kursk in Russia.
"It's my personal opinion that Indians are not being forced into working for the Russian army. They come on their own to earn money and signed contracts for the same. There are people from across the world who want to join the Russian army like any other job," Singh told The New Indian Express.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in September that following PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in July during which he raised the issue with President Putin, 35 Indian nationals were discharged from the Russian Army. That brought the total number of Indians discharged to 45 including 10 others before the PM's visit. At least nine Indians have died in the conflict.
Singh was a part of the delegation that accompanied Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to India. He has been elected twice (2017, 2022) as lawmaker from the border state of Kursk, where there is currently a huge military deployment as it borders Ukraine.
Singh moved to Kursk from Patna as a student in 1991 to study medicine. After dabbling in a pharma business and then moving on to real estate, he joined mainstream politics.
"When I first contested elections in Kursk, I won a landslide victory as people felt a deep connect with me. I belong to them now even though my roots are in India," Singh added.
"Trade between India and Russia is on the ascendant and there is a lot of goodwill not just between the two governments but also people to people. We are hopeful that there will be peace soon and the conflict will come to an end," he added.