Siddaramaiah tweeted that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe are stranded in Sudan. Stating that “lives were at stake”, the external affairs minister responded that he was “simply appalled” at the Congress leader’s tweet.
New Delhi: After Karnataka opposition leader Siddaramaiah appealed to the Union government to rescue 31 members of a tribal community who are in Sudan, Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar urged him to not politicise the situation, which he said was “very complicated”.
Earlier in the day, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddharamiah tagged PM Narendra Modi, BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai and the Union home and external affairs ministries in a tweet that a group of Kannadigas from the semi-nomadic Hakki Pakki tribe were marooned in Sudan.
It is reported that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe, are stranded in Sudan which is troubled by civil war.
I urge @PMOIndia @narendramodi, @HMOIndia, @MEAIndia and @BSBommai to immediately intervene & ensure their safe return.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 18, 2023
“It is reported that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe, are stranded in Sudan which is troubled by civil war. Hakki Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since the last few days & the govt is yet to initiate action to bring them back. @BJP4India govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis,” the Congress veteran posted in a tweet thread.
With state assembly polls around three weeks away, the Congress leader was clearly hoping to corner the state ruling party through his appeal.
Several hours later, Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar replied to Siddharamiah that it was “grossly irresponsible of you to politicise this situation”. “No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad,” he said.
Jaishankar noted that due to the “fierce fighting” in Khartoum, their movement was limited. “Plans regarding them have to take into account a very complicated security scenario”.
Stating that “lives were at stake”, Jaishankar wrote that he was “simply appalled” at Siddaramaiah’s tweet.
“Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan. Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons,” he wrote.
Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; don’t do politics.
Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan. https://t.co/MawnIwStQp
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) April 18, 2023
Source: https://thewire.in/government/siddaramaiah-jaishankar-sudan-politicise