New Delhi: As India strives hard to evacuate all its nationals stranded in Ukraine and its borders, the Congress party has hit out at the Centre for indulging in "partisan propaganda".
In a statement released Monday, the Congress said that large-scale evacuation operations have bee carried out in the past too, but without any kind of promotion by the government.
"It is important to remember and recall that India has in the past undertaken successful large-scale operations by its Air Force and Navy to evacuate Indians during the Gulf war, Lebanon, Libya, and Iraq without indulging in partisan propaganda," said the Congress as reported by news agency ANI.
"The Congress party is alarmed and distressed over the escalation of military conflict in Ukraine. The loss of innocent lives, widespread destruction, mass exodus of people and the aggravated human sufferings is unacceptable. We remain gravely concerned about the safety of thousands of Indian students and citizens trapped in war zones," the statement further added.
This is not the first time that the Congress has hit out at the BJP-led government for its evacuation efforts being carried out in Ukraine due to the Russian Invasion.
Lat week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that the Centre was "caught napping" on the timely evacuation of stranded Indians in Ukraine. He had also urged the government to double up its rescue efforts and intensify negotiations with Ukraine and its neighbouring countries in order to send more flights and officials to bring back its nationals.
India on Sunday managed to evacuate 2,266 more stranded nationals under the Operation Ganga, which put the total number of evacuated at close to 16,000, reported ANI.
According to the external affairs ministry, almost all Indians have left Kharkiv city in Ukraine and the main focus is now to rescue people from Sumy, where fighting was ongoing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday over the phone and thanked him for his support in ongoing efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals, reported ANI.
Earlier today, Russia announced ceasefire, and allowed opening humanitarian corridors for the safety and welfare of the civilians.