Operation Ganga: Ministers Greet Students From Ukraine as Flights Reach India

Several Union Ministers greeted the students at the airport with cries of ‘Vande Matram!’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai!’

Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani.

(Photo: PTI)

Many Indians, including students, arrived at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday, 2 March, after being evacuated from war-torn Ukraine in repatriation flights as part of Operation Ganga.

As Indian nationals arrived safely, several Union ministers greeted the students at the airport with cries of ‘Vande Mataram!’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai!’

The government is facing mounting pressure from Opposition parties and kin of stranded Indians in Ukraine following the death of an Indian student who was killed in shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv on Tuesday, 1 March.

V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, said on Wednesday that over 4,000 Indians in Ukraine had been brought back by 24 February. Apart from that, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated the same day that 3,352 Indians from Ukraine have returned on 15 flights under Operation Ganga.

He added that an estimated 17,000 Indian citizens have left Ukraine.

Showed 'Exemplary Courage': Smriti Irani

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani tweeted a video of greeting and welcoming the Indians in an IndiGo aircraft. In the video, she is heard thanking the students for “exemplary courage” in such distress.

She said, “I am grateful for your resilience, for your courage and patience.” She also greeted students and their families waiting at the airport.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani greets Indian nationals at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi, on Wednesday, 2 March.

(Photo: PTI)

Family members holding the national flag receive Indian nationals, who were evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi, on Wednesday, 2 March.

PTI/ Kamal Singh

A number of Indian students attempting to escape Ukraine have complained that they were stopped, harassed, and beaten at the country's border with Poland as videos of mistreatment circulated on social media.

'Call Your Parents': Jitendra Singh 

Minister of State for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, welcomed Indian students at Delhi airport by giving them each a rose as they exited their flight.

He interacted with the students and said, “Call your parents first.” He also asked the students to inform him if they’re not able to reach their parents.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar also greeted Indian students returning from Ukraine at the Delhi airport.

'Working 24/7 To Bring Indians Home': G Kishan Reddy

Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development G Kishan Reddy also addressed Indian students in an airplane at the Delhi airport, affirming that the Indian government was working 24/7 to evacuate every Indian citizen stuck in Ukraine.

He also thanked all the airlines that helped in the evacuation process.

Ministers Supervise Evac Ops Overseas

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, General VK Singh, spoke to students on Wednesday in Budomierz, which is situated on the Poland-Ukraine border.

Singh is also one of the ministers tasked with overseeing the evacuation of Indians from the Ukraine-Poland border.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who is in Romania to oversee the evacuation of Indians, interacted with students at the Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest on Sunday, 27 February.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, also met with rescued Indians at the Budapest airport. He tweeted a video of him interacting with students and saying “Thank God you all are well.”

Puri was one of the four Cabinet ministers sent to Ukraine to oversee evacuations.

Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju also tweeted a video in which he can be seen interacting with Indian citizens in Slovakia.

"Good to see huge relief in the faces of our students who have reached Slovakia from Ukraine. All of them are given proper care and kept near Košice in Slovakia. 189 of them are leaving tonight for India," Rijiju tweeted.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that India has evacuated 1,377 citizens from Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

He tweeted, "Six flights have now departed for India in the last 24 hours. Includes the first flights from Poland. Carried back 1,377 more Indian nationals from Ukraine."

(With inputs from ANI.)