Thursday, 03 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The former chief minister and head of the campaign committee of Uttarakhand Congress Harish Rawat has said that the Indian government reacted very late and lost precious time in the Ukraine crisis due to which thousands of students and others are stranded there. Interacting with the media persons at Haldwani on Wednesday Rawat said things were deteriorating between Ukraine and Russia from the last two months and embassies were being closed but the Indian government failed to anticipate the situation. He said that the Union government has deployed four ministers on the Ukraine front but till now only 400 odd Indians have returned home. Rawat said that thousands of Indians are still stranded in Ukraine and neighbouring countries. He said that the situation is such that our embassy is still not aware about the number of Indians stranded and friendly countries such as Bulgaria and Romania are refusing entry to Indians into their countries. The Congress leader added that the Indian government should approach Moscow and other neighboring countries of Ukraine for ensuring the safety of Indian nationals.
He said that it is very unfortunate that one Indian student died due to bombing as he was out in search of water. Rawat said that the war only bleeds humanity and table talks are the only solution to prevent it.
On the question of postal ballots, Rawat said that in many constituencies including Lalkuan from where he himself is contesting the postal ballots have not yet reached many police personnel. He said that every single vote is important and it can make or break the government. He claimed that the Congress is poised to form the next government in Uttarakhand as people reeling under the price rise and hit by employment voted for a change. On the question of the chief minister he said that the Congress president holds the prerogative to pick the leader of the legislature party. Taking a swipe at the government for further increasing the price of cooking gas cylinders, Rawat said that the increase in the prices of gas, edible oil and pulses are artificial.
