|
New
Delhi,
Mar
5:
Senior
BJP
leader
and
Union
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah
on
Saturday
said
the
successful
evacuation
of
Indians
from
the
war-hit
Ukraine
had
a
positive
impact
on
the
assembly
polls,
and
noted
that
the
government
had
been
keeping
an
eye
on
the
situation
there
since
January.
Shah
made
these
remarks
at
a
press
conference
here
where
he
and
BJP
president
J
P
Nadda
also
asserted
that
their
party
will
return
to
power
in
all
four
poll-bound
states,
including
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
where
it
is
incumbent
and
make
impressive
gains
in
Punjab.
Asked
about
the
impact
the
government’s
handling
of
the
Ukraine
crisis,
especially
the
evacuation
of
students,
may
have
on
the
polls,
he
said
it
will
be
positive.
He
said
that
the
government
has
been
keeping
an
eye
on
the
situation
in
Ukraine
since
January.
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
has
been
acting
on
the
issue
with
alacrity.
He
said
the
government
had
issued
an
advisory
as
early
as
February
15
for
Indians
in
Ukraine.
Russia
launched
its
military
offensive
against
Ukraine
on
February
24.
“Over
13,000
citizens
have
reached
India
and
more
flights
are
coming
in.
This
process
has
a
positive
impact
on
elections
and
on
the
people
also,”
Shah
said.
The
government
launched
‘Operation
Ganga’ for
the
evacuation
of
Indians
from
Ukraine.
Shah
said,
“The
government
sent
Russian-speaking
teams
to
four
nearby
countries
of
Ukraine
and
also
set
up
a
control
room.
Till
March
4,
we
were
successful
in
bringing
out
16,000
citizens
from
Ukraine.”
With
the
Ukrainian
airspace
having
been
shut
since
February
24
due
to
the
ongoing
Russian
military
offensive,
Indian
citizens
who
were
stuck
in
Ukraine
are
being
airlifted
via
its
neighbouring
countries
such
as
Romania,
Hungary,
Slovakia
and
Poland.
The
last
of
the
seven-phase
assembly
polls
in
Uttar
Pradesh
will
be
held
on
March
7.
Votes
will
be
counted
on
March
10,
along
with
that
of
Punjab,
Uttarakhand,
Goa
and
Manipur.
PTI
Story first published: Saturday, March 5, 2022, 22:50 [IST]