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Ukraine crisis: Jaishankar briefs House panel on evacuation operation
According to officials, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the government over the time taken to start evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday refuted allegations of any delay in the process of evacuating Indian students from Ukraine. Briefing a parliamentary committee on the process to evacuate Indian students stranded in Ukraine, the minister pointed out that while authorities in the country under invasion were giving assurances, many students were unsure about leaving their universities in the middle of an academic session, officials familiar with the discussion said.
The consultative committee on external affairs met on Thursday for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to officials, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the government over the time taken to start evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine. Gandhi also wanted Jaishankar’s response on “how China and Pakistan getting closer to Russia,” referring to Chinese support for Russia and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the day of the invasion.
Gandhi, who had expressed concern over Pakistan and China coming closer during his speech in the debate on the President’s address in Parliament last month, reiterated his position in the meeting and observed that India has to be cautious about China on the borders. Expressing concern about the unresolved border situation with China, Gandhi asked in the meeting if the government was ready to tackle any possible invasion by the Chinese, who might take a cue from Russia.
Jaishankar replied that India is not Ukraine.
Gandhi also indicated that the government’s advisories were “confusing” and later tweeted, “Evacuation is a Duty, not a Favour.”
After the meeting, the external affairs minister tweeted, “A national consensus on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy. Thank all members for their participation. Just completed a MEA consultative committee meeting on developments in Ukraine. A good discussion on the strategic and humanitarian aspects of the issue. Strong and unanimous message of support for efforts to bring back all Indians from Ukraine.”
During the meeting, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi brought up the issue of her tweet on Indians not being allowed entry in Poland being dismissed by the Polish ambassador as fake. Chaturvedi drew attention to the fact that the ambassador’s tweet was retweeted by the MEA .
While many questions regarding India’s position on the Russia Ukraine war and the evacuation process were asked, Opposition leaders maintained there was no bitterness and the committee supported the government’s efforts to bring back stranded Indians.
“Excellent meeting of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs this morning on #Ukraine. My thanks to @DrSJaishankar & his colleagues for a comprehensive briefing & candid responses to our questions &concerns. This is the spirit in which foreign policy should be run,” tweeted Shashi Tharoor. He was one of the nine MPs present in the meeting.
He said, “the meeting took place in a constructive spirit & all parties are united in their desire to see our nationals return safely home”.
In another tweet, Tharoor added, “Frank discussions took place in an amicable atmosphere, a reminder that when it comes to national interests, we are all Indians first and foremost.”
This is the second time MEA top brass has briefed MPs on the Ukraine situation.
On Monday, the standing committee on external affairs discussed the Ukraine situation at a meeting for almost two hours. Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who deposed before the panel to discuss next year’s budget provisions for the ministry, informed the lawmakers that “all efforts are being taken to evacuate Indians” but underlined that “problems in border areas are arising out of long queues”.
He also informed that India is taking the assistance of the Red Cross to provide food and water to those in shelters and that an alternative route is being planned for evacuation.
A lawmaker who did not want to be named said, “We got a hint that British citizen and other Europeans are possibly getting priority treatment at the border. Everyone in the meeting supported the government and there was no criticism. But some of us also enquired why the rescue operations didn’t take place earlier.”
