We never wanted them: Russia on Indians in Russian Army
New Delhi (PTI): Russia on Wednesday said it is hoping for quick resolution of the issue relating to India's call for return of Indians recruited into the Russian Army as support staff and asserted their recruitment was purely a commercial matter.
In first comments on the issue from the Russian government, Russia's Charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin said Moscow never wanted the Indians to be part of its Army and their number is insignificant in the context of the conflict.
"We are on the same side with the Indian government on the issue... We hope that the issue will be resolved soon," he said at a media briefing while responding to a question.
Babushkin's remarks came a day after Russia promised to ensure early release and return to home of the Indian nationals working in the Russian military as support staff after Prime Minister Narendra Modi "very strongly" raised the issue with President Vladimir Putin.
Babushkin noted that the issue should not be politicised.
"Let us be very clear, we have never wanted Indians to be part of the Russian Army. You would never see any announcement by Russian authorities on this," he said.
The Russian diplomat said most of the Indians were recruited under a commercial framework as they wanted to "make money".
The number of Indians -- 50, 60 or 100 people -- does not make any significance in terms of the wider conflict.
"They are there purely for commercial reasons and we did not want to recruit them," he said.
Babushkin said most of the Indians recruited as support staff are working illegally as they do not have appropriate visas to work.
He said most of them came to Russia on tourist visas.
Asked if the families of those killed would be given compensation and Russian citizenship, Babushkin said that it "should happen anyway as per the contractual obligations".
On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said in Moscow that the Russian side promised early discharge of all Indian nationals from the service of the Russian Army.
"The prime minister strongly raised the issue of early discharge of Indian nationals who have been misled into the service of the Russian Army. This was taken up strongly by the prime minister and the Russian side promised early discharge of all Indian nationals," he said.
It is learnt that Modi raised the issue during his informal talks with Putin over dinner at the Russian leader's dacha or country home on Monday evening.
Kwatra said the two sides will work on how expeditiously the Indians can be brought back home.
Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the issue of Indian nationals serving with the Russian Army remains a matter of "utmost concern" and demanded action from Moscow over it.
On June 11, India said two Indian nationals, who were recruited by the Russian Army, had recently been killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which took the number of such deaths to four.
Following the deaths of two Indians, the MEA demanded a "verified stop" to further recruitment of Indian nationals by the Russian Army.
In a strongly-worded statement, it said India demanded that there be a "verified stop to any further recruitment of Indian nationals by the Russian Army and that such activities would not be in "consonance with our partnership".
In March, 30-year-old Hyderabad resident Mohammed Asfan succumbed to injuries sustained while serving with Russian troops on the frontlines with Ukraine.
In February, Hemal Ashwinbhai Mangua, a 23-year-old resident of Surat in Gujarat, died in a Ukrainian air strike while serving as a "security helper" in the Donetsk region.
Modi was on a two-day high-profile visit to Russia from Monday to hold the 22nd India-Russia annual summit with Putin.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
I ran to save my life: London-based singer recalls chaos at Messi event in Kolkata
Kolkata (PTI): What was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime musical tribute to football legend Lionel Messi turned into a harrowing experience for London-based Indian singer Charles Antony, who flew to the country specially to perform at the event at Salt Lake stadium here.
Antony, a Malayali who sings in 18 languages, including Bengali, had composed a special Spanish song for Messi to welcome him in Kolkata, but was not able to sing that as he ran for his life amid chaos during the December 13 event at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here.
“I ran to save my life,” Antony told PTI, recalling how the celebration descended into mobocracy as crowd control collapsed inside the packed stadium.
Angry fans, many of whom had paid Rs 4,000 to Rs 12,000 — and in some cases up to Rs 20,000 in the black market — ran riot at the venue after failing to get even a glimpse of their favourite superstar from Argentina.
ALSO READ: Madhya Pradesh: BJP leader assaults blind woman in Church
“I had barely seen him. He was smiling, but it was very clear he was uncomfortable,” Antony vividly recalled, even after 10 days had passed.
Positioned on the running tracks near the gallery, the singer was waiting for Messi to complete his lap around the ground when the situation worsened.
Antony saw Messi, his long-time strike partner Luis Suárez and Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul being surrounded by many people.
He noticed water bottles, food packets, stones and metal objects being hurled from the gallery. Equipment was on the verge of being damaged, and panic had set in.
“I was lucky I was not injured, and none of my equipment was damaged,” he said.
The singer said there was confusion over reporting time, with instructions given to reach the venue at both 10.30 am and 9.30 am on December 13 for a sound check, and he had not had the opportunity to visit the stadium the previous day.
Personally invited by now-arrested event organiser Satadru Dutta to sing at the Messi events in Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi, Antony had travelled from London and was staying at the Hyatt Hotel here.
Having sung in the presence of Diego Maradona during his visit to Kolkata in 2016, an experience Antony describes as joyous and perfectly managed, the contrast was stark.
“When Maradona came to Kolkata in 2016, I was inside the inner circle. Nothing went wrong then. This time, I was outside the core circle," he said.
Antony said the size of the crowd, on both occasions, was huge.
“This is the first time in my life I saw nearly one lakh people in one place. Luckily, I got the chance to sing a couple of songs at the event. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of travelling all the way from London. And now, I have become the first Indian to sing with Maradona and for Messi," he said.
Antony said people began storming the ground after VVIPs were escorted through an underground exit and former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly left the stadium.
“That’s when the police told me to run to a safe place,” he said.
With no assistance from anyone, the singer grabbed whatever he could, his guitar, cables, mouth organs, and vocal processors, stuffing them into bags.
“Everyone was worried about the VVIPs. Nobody was concerned about my safety,” he said.
With his access tag still hanging around his neck, Antony felt even more vulnerable on that day.
“People misjudged me as one of the organisers. At one point, my life was under threat,” he said.
Police advised him to move towards the centre of the ground to avoid attacks from the galleries, he said.
Eventually, Antony ran all the way back to the hotel, later shifting to another hotel for safety.
“I had no time to look for anyone else. I ran to save my life,” he said.
In the aftermath, Antony tried repeatedly to contact Satadru Dutta to understand what would happen next, but could not reach him.
“There was complete uncertainty. I was getting very agitated,” he admitted.
He also witnessed the heartbreak of fans.
ALSO READ: Unnao rape case: Delhi High Court suspends Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence, grants bail
“People had come from Meghalaya, Assam, Bengaluru just to see Messi. They couldn’t even see Messi and were very disappointed. and I saw many crying,” he said.
Antony clarified that he did not take any remuneration for the performances. The organisers only covered his travel costs from London and his accommodation in India.
Despite the ordeal, he refused to single out Satadru, the organiser, for mismanagement at the stadium.
“I don’t believe Satadru is solely responsible. He (Satadru) tried his best to stop people from coming close to Messi. But some others, possibly VVIPs, were taking selfies. He was visibly helpless. Everything went out of control,” Antony said.
For the singer, the day remains a painful memory, not just because he couldn’t sing for Messi, but because what should have been a celebration of football turned into a fight for survival.
