A video of Indian students refusing to chant slogans in favor of Narendra Modi is going viral on social media. According to the video, when asked to chant “Modi ji zindabad” the students remained silent.
To clarify, a junior Defence Minister gave a short speech inside an Indian Air Force aircraft, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contribution to the efforts to bring home Indian students stranded in conflict-hit Ukraine.
Read more: Russian forces seize key city in Ukraine
“Don’t worry at all. Your lives have been saved by the grace of Modi ji. Everything will be all right. Bharat Mata ki jai…mananiya Modi ji zindabad,” Ajay Bhatt, the Union Minister of State for Defence said.
To boost the morale of the students, the minister gestures to the students to chant after him. The students oblige and chant “Bharat Mata ki jai“. However, the minister is met with silence when he asks the students to chant “Modi ji Zindabad”. After another try, a few students responded with just “zindabad.”
करा ली बेइज्जती!😂 pic.twitter.com/6MuAoOQuYq
— UP Congress (@INCUttarPradesh) March 3, 2022
Important to note, Indian students have voiced their displeasure at the lack of assistance from their government during the crisis. Students stated that the embassy directed them to reach specific evacuation points on their own. However, the situation makes it difficult for them to travel and they continue to remain stranded.
On the other hand, Indian students who did manage to reach the borders for evacuation found themselves without any Indian officials for assistance.
A video of India’s Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s row with the mayor of Bucharest in Romania also went viral.
“I provide food and shelter to them. Not you,” the Mayor claimed.
"I was the one providing them with food & shelter." – Romania's city mayor gives shut-up call to Modi's minister Scindia for taking the credit for safe protection of Indian students. 🤦 pic.twitter.com/PtlVDz9X8J
— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) March 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/PAPA__Tweets/status/1499675841910894592?s=20&t=rtY5lYg0UBddnHvFSDiNcw
Pakistan Embassy helps Indian students
Interestingly, the Pakistani Embassy in Ukraine provided sanctuary to Indian students stranded in the nation due to the Russian invasion.
Pertinent to mention, Indian nationals, including students, faced discrimination in Ukraine after their government refused to vote against Russia at a UN Security Council meeting on February 25. The decision led to Indian students being beaten at the Poland-Ukraine border allegedly by Ukrainian border guards.
In this situation, a group of Indian students left the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and arrived in Lviv, a town 70 kilometres from the Poland border. But they could not find any Indian diplomat to help them there.
Read more: Pakistan embassy provides shelter to Indian students stranded in Ukraine
An Indian student later uploaded a video saying that he and three others were sitting with Pakistani students because when they arrived in Lviv there were so many people and they could not find anyone from the Indian diplomatic mission to help them.
“Only four of us are Indian. The rest of them all are Pakistanis. You can see,” the student says as he films several young people in what looks like a dining hall.
Great gesture from Pakistan embassy
They are helping indian Students to reach Romania border and also providing food . #AirIndia #IndianStudent pic.twitter.com/dBQ86lIwi9— Himanshu Narayan (@H_narayan_) March 2, 2022