NEW DELHI, Aug 9 : The Congress on Friday said it is a “national tragedy” that Indians recruited into the Russian army are waiting to be released from the force and alleged that the Centre’s failure to create employment has led “our youth to risk their very lives for another country in a war that is not our own”.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said 87 Indian youngsters, “faced with the mounting unemployment and hopelessness at home, have joined the Russian Army in the war that Papa was supposed to have stopped”.
Citing a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Ramesh said 66 Indian nationals are still pending release from the Russian army.
“While the honourable minister’s answer doesn’t mention, eight have lost their lives as well,” he said in a post on X.
“The government’s failure to create employment has led our youth to risk their very lives, for another country, in a war that is not our own. This is a national tragedy,” the Congress leader said.
Jaishankar said on Friday that the government is awaiting the release of 69 Indians recruited into the Russian army and in many cases, there are indications that the Indian nationals were misled into joining the force.
On action taken with respect to people being misled and getting recruited into the Russian army, the minister told the Lok Sabha that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged a criminal case against 19 individuals and entities, while evidence has surfaced against 10 human traffickers whose identities are known to the government.
“We should not jump the gun and say Russians are not serious on this matter. I think it is important to hold the Russian government to their word and most important for us, we are not here to score points or enter into debates. We are here to get back those 69 people because Indian citizens should not be serving in the armies of foreign countries,” he said during the Question Hour.
In his written reply, Jaishankar said, “Early discharge of Indian nationals from the Russian armed forces, as well as their safety and well-being, has been taken up strongly by the government with relevant Russian authorities at various levels.”
“While the exact number of such Indian nationals is not known, information currently available indicates that 13 Indian nationals have already left the Russian armed forces while another 66 individuals are seeking early discharge,” he said. (PTI)
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