Modi speaks to Romanian, Slovakian PMs, reviews Operation Ganga

He deputed four ministers in East Europe to coordinate the evacuation of Indians

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked four union ministers to travel to the four nations neighbouring Ukraine for guiding and coordinating the implementation of “Operation Ganga”, which was launched to evacuate citizens of India from the war-torn East European nation.

Modi also spoke to Romanian and Slovakian Prime Ministers over the phone and sought continued assistance from their respective governments in India's mission to evacuate citizens from Ukraine.

The four union ministers, Hardeep Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen. (retd) V K Singh, will leave for Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Poland respectively on Tuesday. They will oversee the evacuation of citizens of India stranded in Ukraine through the four nations. Scindia will also coordinate the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine through Moldova, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, told journalists in New Delhi.

Also read: Ensuring safety of Indian students, evacuating them from Ukraine top priority: PM Modi

With opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) criticising the government for the slow pace of the evacuation and the harassment and difficulties experienced by the citizens of India in Ukraine, the Prime Minister had two meetings with senior ministers and officials to review the progress of the 'Operation Ganga'.

After Ukraine closed its airspace in the wake of the invasion by Russia, India launched 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate its citizens through neighbouring Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The Air India aircraft chartered by the government so far operated six flights from Bucharest and Budapest to Mumbai and New Delhi and flew back home 1396 Indians after they crossed over from Ukraine to Hungary and Romania, Bagchi said in New Delhi on Monday.

Modi had a phone call with Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă and thanked him for the assistance provided by Romania in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine over the past few days. He particularly appreciated Romania’s gesture in allowing Indian citizens to enter Romania without visas, and for permitting special evacuation flights from India.

He also spoke on phone with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Eduard Heger.

During phone calls with his Romanian and Slovakian counterparts, the Prime Minister expressed his anguish at the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and reiterated India’s consistent appeal for cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue. He stressed the importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, thus tacitly disapproving of Russia's invasion into Ukraine.

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