Criticizing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said that the concerned ministries and embassy should act more responsibly and with advisories they should suggest route plans and means to reach borders of neighbouring countries. AAP’s Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann, expressing grief on the demise of Indian student Naveen Sekharappa in Kharkiv, said that vague advisories and non-seriousness of Modi Government towards the issue is costing the stranded students so much.
Mann reiterated that it is impossible for students stranded in eastern parts of Ukraine to reach borders in the west. “Cities like Kharkiv and Sumy are near the Russian border, so the Indian Government should try to have a dialogue with Russia urging a ceasefire and evacuate students from that side,” he said. Mann added that the students are facing so many difficulties, no food, no means to reach borders of Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia and now backlash from locals due to UNSC vote issue, so the least Prime Minister Modi can do is be more sensitive about this and prioritize it over his election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. “Even now, by naming this evacuation operation as Mission Ganga, Modi and the BJP just want to take political advantage of such unfortunate situation and this attitude of Union government is disappointing,” he added.
In fact, Jindal’s father Shishan Kumar, and brother Krishan Gopal had also reached Ukraine on February 7 after knowing about Jindal’s serious medical condition. For being on the western side of Ukraine, his brother Gopal somehow had returned only on Tuesday, while his father Shishan Kumar, who had recently retired as a chief pharmacist from Barnala Civil Hospital, is still in Ukraine.
Now, his father has written to the Indian Government to make arrangements for bringing back his body. The Centre is already making efforts to bring back the body of Karnataka’s Naveen. His family is in touch with the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi to get back the dead body. Jindal’s uncle, Dheeraj Kumar, had contested the February 20 assembly elections from the Barnala assembly segment on the BJP ticket.
With the airspace in Ukraine shut for passenger services, bringing back bodies may take place through other countries as has been happening for evacuation of stranded Indians.