The Congress in Karnataka blamed the Centre for the crisis of Indian students stranded in war zone in Ukraine even as it took exception to the statement made by Union Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Indian students going abroad and demanded an apology from him.
"The statement of the Union Minister has hurt the pride of students. The Minister has said that those who score less go to foreign countries for studies. Talented and bright youth from the country have gone to Europe, Australia and the U.S. for higher studies and lead several fortune 500 countries," KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar told presspersons here on Wednesday. "Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seconded the statement. Nothing is more unfortunate than this. The Minister should apologise for his remarks."
Referring to the high cost of medical courses in the country that can stretch up to ₹2 crore, he said that not everyone will have the financial capability to afford such huge cost. "That is the reason why many students go abroad to secure medical degrees. There is nothing wrong in going abroad to study. There are 63 medical colleges in Karnataka." Similarly, there are students coming to India from countries to study, he added.
Mr. Shivakumar said that the deceased Naveen was a bright student and had scored excellent marks, and had gone to Ukraine to pursue his dreams to study medicine. "Everyone will not have the same financial capability. Students go abroad to study to become good citizens. The BJP Government does not understand the pain of parents. Both Governments should apologise to the parents, he said.
Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said in a release that the ongoing uncertainty in Ukraine is highly concerning and there were sufficient warnings. "The unfortunate death of Naveen has exposed under preparedness of BJP Government and failure to assess the impact by Ministry of External Affairs." According to MEA, about 20,000 students were studying in Ukraine.
The former Chief Minister said the Government had lot of time to evacuate these students between the outbreak of hostilities in early January this year till the start of military conflict in late February. He also pointed out that it is not new for India to conduct evacuation of its citizens from conflict areas, but the laxity by BJP Government has taken toll on the safety of Indian students in Ukraine during the current crisis. " Had BJP acted swiftly, Naveen would still be alive with us and also could have saved 20,000 students from experiencing trauma."
