New Delhi, Feb 27: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday activated a dedicated Twitter handle, "OpGanga Helpline" (@opganga), to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Ukraine.

The mission to evacuate the stranded Indians from Ukraine has been named as "Operation Ganga".

India has already set up round-the-clock "control centres" in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine through border-crossing points with these countries.

The helpline numbers of the control room in Poland are: +48225400000, +48795850877 and +48792712511. Those requiring help can also write an email to controlroominwarsaw@gmail.com, according to the MEA.

The helpline numbers of the control room in Romania are: +40732124309, +40771632567, +40745161631 and +40741528123. The email address for contacting the control room in Romania is controlroombucharest@gmail.com.

The MEA said Indians can contact the control room in Hungary on phone numbers +36 308517373, +36 13257742 and +36 13257743. It also has a WhatsApp number: +36 308517373 for assistance.

The helpline numbers of the control room in Slovakia are +421 252631377, +421 252962916 and +421 951697560. The email address is hoc.bratislava@mea.gov.in.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.