Slamming the Central government's evacuation efforts of the stranded Indians from war-torn Ukraine, Shiv Sena on Monday charged that while students were protesting in various Ukrainian cities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy in election rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
"While students from India were protesting in Sumy, Kyiv and Kharkiv in Ukraine, our Prime Minister was playing 'Damru' on the banks of river Ganga during a campaign rally in Varanasi," reads the editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamna'.
The editorial further took a potshot at the evacuation exercise, saying "if this is what 'Operation Ganga' means then we bow before them".
Further, slamming the government over politicising the issue in the Assembly elections in UP, the editorial commented, "We will also raise the slogans in praise of you, but keep politics aside for a while."
The comment in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece apparently was in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in an election rally in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur wherein he had talked about India's recent evacuation efforts, including 'Operation Vande Bharat', 'Operation Devi Shakti', and 'Operation Ganga'.
The Prime Minister had said that "India is working day and night to bring back every citizen, and students". We have brought back thousands of children safely from Ukraine by running 'Operation Ganga', he had added.
"Bring back the Indian students stranded in Ukrainian city Sumy," the editorial in 'Saamna' demanded.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine on Sunday had advised the students stranded in Sumy to be ready to leave on short notice.
"Team from Embassy of India is stationed in Poltava city to coordinate the safe passage of Indian students stranded in Sumy to Western borders via Poltava. A confirmed time and date will be issued soon. Indian students advised to be ready to leave on short notice," reads the tweet.
Almost 15,900 Indians have been brought back from Ukraine by special flights which began on February 22, reads the official statement.
Barring Kharkiv and Sumy, Indians stranded from other cities of Ukraine have been evacuated.
The Embassy said that despite shelling, roadblocks, diversions and other major adversities, food and water continued to be delivered to Pisochyn, in whatever quantities and means available.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
( With inputs from ANI )
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