PM Modi speaks to Ukrainian President; seeks help in evacuation of Indian students from Sumy
New Delhi(PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and sought his "support" in evacuation of Indian students stuck in northeastern Ukraine's Sumy city.
Around 700 Indian students are stranded in Sumy amid intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
In a phone conversation that lasted for around 35 minutes, Prime Minister Modi thanked President Zelenskyy for the help extended by the government of Ukraine in evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, official sources said.
"Prime Minister Modi sought continued support from the government of Ukraine in ongoing efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals from Sumy," a source said about the talks.
The sources said the two leaders discussed the evolving situation in Ukraine. Modi appreciated the continuing direct dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, they said.
It was the second telephonic conversation between Modi and Zelenskyy after the conflict began in Ukraine.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
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.
