new Delhi: As the government’s efforts to bring back Indian citizens from Ukraine continued, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting of the Consultative Committee of his ministry on Thursday with MPs from various parties. Discussed the situation in the country and the opposition parties expressed solidarity with the efforts to evacuate Indians from there.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma, Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, RJD’s Premchandra Gupta, BJP’s GVN Narasimha Rao, etc. participated in the meeting of the Ministry’s Consultative Committee under the chairmanship of Jaishankar. Apart from External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, officials of the ministry were also present in this. In the meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla informed about the situation in Ukraine and the government’s efforts to bring back Indians from there. Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting, “Meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs on developments in Ukraine has just concluded. There was a good discussion on the strategic and humanitarian dimensions associated with this issue.
“A strong and unanimous message in favor of the effort to bring back all Indians from Ukraine,” he said. After the meeting, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “On the issue of Ukraine, a meeting of the Consultative Committee related to the Ministry of External Affairs took place. Thanks to S Jaishankar and his colleagues for their comprehensive information and accurate answers to our questions and concerns. This is the spirit on which foreign policy should follow.” “Nine MPs from six political parties attended the meeting. From Congress Rahul Gandhi, Anand Sharma and I joined it. Discussions were held openly in a cordial atmosphere.”
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“It reminds us that we are all Indians first when it comes to national interest,” Tharoor said. The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said, “I turned down the request for comment made by the media as the meeting was confidential.” Tharoor said he urged the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a more detailed statement on the issue than normal. “The meeting was held in a constructive spirit and all the parties were united that our citizens should be brought back safely,” the Congress leader said.
At the same time, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said in her tweet, “Participated in the meeting of the Consultative Committee under the chairmanship of External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. Foreign Secretary briefed about the situation in Ukraine and the government’s efforts to bring back Indians from there. “Thank you for the information and everyone is united in our efforts to bring our students back to the country,” he said.
The main objective of this committee is to provide a forum for informal discussion between ministers, parliamentarians and senior officials regarding the programs, policies and compliance of the government. Significantly, on Monday, Shringla had informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs about ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back Indians from Ukraine. (agency)