Death of Karnataka student exposes BJP govt’s under-preparedness: Siddaramaiah

PTI, Mar 2, 2022, 5:46 PM IST

Accusing BJP leaders of indulging in public relation exercise during the Ukraine crisis, Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said the death of a student from Karnataka in shelling in the war-torn nation has exposed under-preparedness of the central government and failure to assess the impact by Ministry of External Affairs.

Noting that about 20,000 students were studying in Ukraine, the former Chief Minister said the government had lots of time to evacuate them between the outbreak of hostilities in early January this year till the start of military conflict in late February.

”Build up of Russian troops around Ukraine started as early as November 2021. Why was there lack of response by government to issue adequate advisory for the students to leave Ukraine and make necessary arrangements to fly those students back to India? Why did the government start the process only after the outbreak of military conflict?” Siddaramaiah asked.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly claimed that India issued the first advisory on February 15 asking for details of Indians residing in various parts of the country, whereas many other countries had carried out this exercise a month before.

According to him, it was not for the first time that India conducted evacuation of its citizens from conflict areas. In 2011, more than 15,000 were evacuated from Libya at short notice for the safety of Indians but the ”laxity” by BJP government has taken toll on the safety of Indian students in Ukraine during the current crisis, he said.

”Why could BJP government not do which previous governments could do? Had BJP acted swiftly, Naveen would still be alive with us and also could have saved 20,000 students from experiencing trauma,” Siddaramaiah said.

Pointing out that the humanitarian crisis and plight of Indian students are very disturbing, Siddaramaiah said students, especially in the conflict zone, were facing difficulties even for a single meal. He also claimed that they are attacked by locals and army for money and food, while many are forced to walk hundreds of kilometres to reach border countries.

Stressing that the students were under immense stress due lack of food, water or shelter, Siddaramaih said the panic among the parents of those students was equally disturbing. Siddaramaiah also said it was unfortunate to note that BJP leaders are ”jumping to improve their public relation activities” during the time of crisis.

”BJP leaders consider every crisis as an opportunity to increase their publicity. Narendra Modi used even the name of Ganga for the evacuation operation so that it helps BJP during the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections. I just hope river Ganga forgives the sins of BJP leaders,” he said.