New Delhi: Operation Kaveri has upset the Congress ahead of the Karnataka assembly election as it hit out at the BJP for naming the mission to rescue stranded Indians in conflict-hit Sudan so as to influence the polls.
Hours after the Indian government launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to safely bring back around 3,000 Indians stranded in Sudan, Karnataka Congress leader Sanket Yenagi accused the centre of delaying the rescue operation and slammed it for naming the mission operation Kaveri due to the upcoming elections in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the operation at a public event in Kerala, where he also said that he has asked junior external affairs minister V Muraleedharan to travel to Jeddah to supervise rescue efforts and evacuation in Sudan.
Meanwhile, the first batch of stranded Indians left Sudan under Operation Kaveri on Tuesday afternoon. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi shared the images of INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departing Port Sudan for Jeddah.
First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri.
INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah. pic.twitter.com/4hPrPPsi1I
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) April 25, 2023
Operation Kaveri: Politics over name
Karnataka Congress' Sanket Yenagi on Tuesday said, "Evacuating Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan is the responsibility of the Indian government and they are not doing the charity. It is the constitutional duty."
He further said to cover up its "lapses, lacuna, negligence and delay to immediately bring the stranded Indians back, the BJP took actions after being revolted by Congress and people against their inaction."
"They have named it operation Kaveri. The name Kaveri is from Karnataka. They (BJP) are keeping an eye on Karnataka elections so they have named it as operation Kaveri. I have no objection with naming the operation Kaveri but have issue with the timing," Yenagi said.
He further alleged, "Operation, especially rescue operation, should not be politicised in order to get sympathy votes. BJP is playing cheap politics."
BJP's fitting response to Congress
Hitting back at Yenagi, BJP leader S Prakash said that the Congress was indulging in "third class level of politics because of the Karnataka elections 2023."
"Such issues are of national importance and should not be politicised. What is important is to safely bring back those stranded in Sudan," Prakash said.
The BJP leader help Yenagi recall that the mission to evacuate Indians who were stranded in Ukraine was also named after river Ganga - Operation Ganga.
A report by ANI on Monday quoted a top source saying that the name Operation Kaveri has been chosen on the same lines as that the Prime Minister chose to name the operation in Ukraine as Operation Ganga.
The Kaveri is one of the major rivers in India and flows through the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river is sacred to the people of the region and is worshipped as the Goddess Kaveriamma (mother Kaveri).
"Rivers reach their destination irrespective of barriers. It's like a mother who will ensure she will bring her children back to safety," another source was quoted by ANI on the naming of this operation by the Modi government.
At least 427 people have been killed and around 4,000 wounded in ten days of fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Hemedti and the military, headed by Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The two generals disagree over the proposed transition to civilian rule in Sudan.
Last week, a Twitter war broke out between India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah over the latter's remarks on 31 tribal from Karnataka who are stuck in crisis-hit Sudan.
Taking to Twitter, Siddaramaiah alleged the Indian government's "inaction" in bringing back the stranded people belonging to a tribal community started the heated exchange.
"The Hakki Pikkis in Sudan were left stranded without food for the past few days and the government has not yet initiated action to bring them back," he claimed.
His allegation drew a sharp retort from Jaishankar: "It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicise their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad."
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April 25, 2023 at 04:35PM
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