Show of Unity: Opposition Leaders Appreciate Government’s Handling of Ukraine Situation

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, March 3: In a unique show of unity when it comes to national exigency, the Congress on Thursday appreciated the Narendra Modi government’s handling of the situation evolving from the Russian invasion of Ukraine despite its earlier criticism of steps taken for the evacuation of the stranded students.

After a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee on foreign affairs on Thursday in which the external affairs minister S Jaishankar and the Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla briefed the members on the situation in war-torn Ukraine, Congress’s former minister and diplomat Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “it was a good meeting. We are all united.” Jaishankar, who made the briefing, also tweeted about a “Strong and unanimous message of support.”

The briefing of the consultative committee on foreign affairs came amid growing opposition criticism of the government’s handling of the situation – evacuation and the UN vote. Tharoor — who was present at the meet with other Congress MPs, Rahul Gandhi and Anand Sharma – had earlier been very critical of the government’s handling of the situation including even India abstaining from voting in the United Nations against Russia from which the Congress had quickly dissociated itself claiming that the criticism was Tharoor’s personal opinion and not of the party.

The parliamentary committee meeting was held in the backdrop of the Russian president Vladimir Putin declaring that Russia would achieve the goals of its operation in Ukraine even as the UN general Assembly called for its immediate withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and Russia agreeing to resume talks with Ukraine to find a solution and end the conflict.

Putin vowed on Thursday to continue fighting against what he described as “nationalists” in Ukraine, according to a readout of a call with French leader Emmanuel Macron, which added that attempts to slow conflict talks would “only lead to additional demands on Kyiv in our negotiating position.” Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations began in Belarus as Kyiv plans to discuss setting up humanitarian corridors before moving on to other issues, Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia said on Facebook.

The meeting of the 21-member Parliamentary committee headed by Jaishankar was attended by nine MPs from six political parties, including Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi, who has been questioning the government on the problems faced by Indian students in Ukraine. Rahul Gandhi had been vocal on Twitter about the evacuation efforts and the role of Prime Minister who he had said, “was missing in action.”

After an Indian student was killed in shelling at Ukraine’s Kharkiv on Tuesday, he tweeted: “To avert further tragedy, the Government must share how many students have been evacuated, how many are still stranded in Ukraine and a region wise detailed evacuation plan.”

Tharoor, a former Indian representative in the UN, had been critical of not only the evacuation efforts, but also deviated from the party line to question India’s abstention in voting against Russia at the United Nations Security Council. “Our stand has been that we do not support invading other countries and regime change through violence and war… After our abstention, many regretted that India had placed itself on the ‘wrong side of history’, Tharoor had said. The Congress, however, had quickly distanced itself from the comment as the party governments in the past had always remained a close ally of Russia.

The Congress had taken a diplomatic stance on the UN vote, in line with that of the government. “The Congress while expressing its anguish is of the considered view that the international community must work together for cessation of armed conflict and early restoration of peace to save human lives and further aggravation of the crisis,” read a statement from the party.

After the meeting on Thursday, Tharoor tweeted: “Excellent meeting of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs this morning on Ukraine. My thanks to Dr S Jaishankar & his colleagues for a comprehensive briefing & candid responses to our questions & concerns. This is the spirit in which foreign policy should be run. (We had) many points. MEA will talk. It was a good meeting. We are all united,” a third tweet from Tharoor read.

Jaishankar also tweeted about the meet. “Just completed a MEA consultative committee meeting on developments in Ukraine. A good discussion on the strategic and humanitarian aspects of the issue. Strong and unanimous message of support for efforts to bring back all Indians from Ukraine,” his tweet read. “A national consensus on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy. Thank all members for their participation,” read another tweet.

Earlier this week, India had abstained from voting at the UN Security Council on a US-sponsored resolution that deplored in strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. On Wednesday too, India abstained from voting at the UN General Assembly on a resolution demanding that Russia stop military operations in Ukraine, saying its “foremost priority” was evacuation of Indian nationals.

Modi spoke to Putin on Wednesday to review the situation in Ukraine and Indian evacuation efforts. “The leaders reviewed the situation in Ukraine, especially in the city of Kharkiv where many Indian students are stuck. They discussed the safe evacuation of the Indian nationals from the conflict areas,” read a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.