More than 10 students from Karnataka stranded in Ukraine: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Feb 24: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said at least ten students of the state are stranded in Ukraine, and the government is working with the Indian Embassy there and Ministry of External Affairs to bring them back home safely.
He said that he will also be speaking to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in this regard.
"At the time when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, about hundred Indian students were on their way to the airport in two buses and got stranded, as the flights could not land. More than 10 are from Karnataka, we are gathering information about them," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, his government is in constant touch with the Indian Embassy in Ukraine, the Chief Secretary is in touch with the Foreign Secretary, and that he will also be personally speaking to the External Affairs Minister in this regard.
"A message has been sent to the Embassy, and the Embassy is guiding the students on where to reach and the security situation. They should be safe first, and when the flights begin operation, all measures will be taken to bring them back home, in coordination with the Government of India," he added.
Stating that students were coming back to India in batches as per their convenience, the Chief Minister said, this was probably the last batch and they had almost reached the airport, when the situation changed.
India on Thursday was firming up contingency plans including activating alternate air routes to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine as the spectre of a massive Russian offensive loomed over the eastern European country after President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation.
The Ministry of External Affairs held a series of high-level meetings to put into operation certain contingency plans in view of the rapidly changing situation in Ukraine.
Official sources have said given that the Ukrainian airspace was closed for civilian aircraft, alternate evacuation routes are being activated to bring back the Indians, especially the students.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
