Congress questions govt’s ‘silence’ on fate of 20,000 Indian students in Ukraine

Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor urge government to condemn Russian invasion

Why did the Government of India not evacuate 20,000 Indian students from Ukraine in time, the Congress asked on Thursday, and its senior leaders like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari called for "unequivocal" condemnation of the Russian invasion.

"So Russia is conducting a“regime change” operation. How long can India,which had consistently opposed such interventions, stay silent? However much one appreciates Moscow’s legitimate security concerns,resort to war is impossible to accept or justify. We should demand they stop," tweeted Mr. Tharoor, who has been a former Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs.

Referring to an earlier statement of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that India wouldn't accept any change of status quo in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) unilaterally, in another tweet, Mr. Tharoor said, "This should be our stand on Ukraine as well. Principles do not cease to be relevant depending on the identity of the invader".

Mr. Tewari said India shouldn't make the same mistake of not condemning Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979.

"India should unequivocally condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine in unambiguous terms . There comes a time when you need to tell ‘friends’ they can’t indulge in Regime change . India’s conduct of international relations should be characterised by calling a spade a spade," he stated and the tagged the Prime Minister's Office. "In the 21 st century can you change status quo by force," he added.

While Mr. Tharoor talked of receiving desperate messages from stranded students and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene instead of focusing on elections, Mr. Tewari flagged the issue of students waiting outside the Indian Embassy in Kyiv in sub-zero temperatures by sharing a video.

Taking to Twitter, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala questioned the government's "silence" on the Ukraine situation and the fate of the 20,000 Indian students who are pursuing professional courses like medicine and engineering in that country.