Akhilesh Yadav links Operation Ganga to UP elections; calls evacuation mission a 'failure'

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav linked the evacuation of Indian students from the war-hit nation to the ongoing Uttar Pradesh election. Speaking to the media on Monday, Yadav claimed that the evacuation mission was named 'Operation Ganga' to hide the Centre's "failure" in repatriating Indians from Ukraine. Moreover, he claimed that the mention of the River Ganga was a bid to influence the election, especially in the Purvanchal region. The polling for the final phase of the UP polls will end today. 

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav remarked, "The Centre was unsuccessful in helping Indian students stuck in Ukraine and their families. We should always stand with those who have suffered injustice. The Indian government would talk about strength. These people would say that India is being recognised in the world. But they couldn't evacuate the Indians stuck there."

"To hide their failure, they named the evacuation mission 'Operation Ganga'. They did so because the election is in Varanasi. Ganga is in Mirzapur," the former UP CM added. 

What is Operation Ganga? 

Under the aegis of Operation Ganga, the Union government is aiming to evacuate Indians from Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia. While Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (retd) VK Singh have reached Hungary, Slovakia and Poland respectively, Jyotiraditya Scindia has gone to Romania and Moldova to coordinate the evacuation mission and extend assistance to the stranded nationals. As per the MEA, the top priority is to rescue Indians from Sumy, which is under intense attack from the Russian forces. 

The situation got tense after Naveen, a 4th-year medical student at the Kharkiv National Medical University was killed in a Russian attack. As Putin's forces went on the offensive by attacking central Freedom Square and the residential districts of Kharkiv, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued an urgent advisory at 4.57 pm IST on March 2 asking stranded students to leave Kharkiv immediately.  As of 7.14 pm on March 6, over 15,920 students have been evacuated via 76 flights from Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia under Operation Ganga. 

Meanwhile, Indian student Harjot Singh who was hospitalized after sustaining bullet injuries in Kyiv will reach the national capital in the evening. As per sources, buses are on the way to pick up approximately 700 students stranded in Sumy. A day earlier, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine mentioned that a team from the Embassy is stationed in the Poltava City to coordinate the safe passage of Indians to the western border.