NEW DELHI, Apr 30 (NNN-ZEE NEWS) – Former Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, urged the Centre to bring back thousands of Indian workers stranded in the Middle East, where they are left out of work, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 crisis and shutting of businesses in the Middle East, left thousands of Indian workers in deep distress and desperate to return home. The Govt must organise flights to bring home our brothers and sisters, most in need of assistance, with quarantine plans in place,” Rahul said, in his tweet.
In the UK, there are about 400,000 Indian nationals, including about 50,000 students. The UK government has now extended visas till May 31 and has issued necessary guidelines.
It may be recalled that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the Supreme Court that, there are 13 million Indians – including NRI’s and students stranded abroad and the government is seeking to minimise the severe risk posed by their arrival, from an increasing number of countries affected by COVID-19.
“However, given the present situation of the outbreak in India, and the limited resources available, it is not feasible to selectively evacuate Indian citizens from abroad, when a large number of them, from a number of countries, want to return back due to various reasons,” said the MEA in its reply to the Supreme Court.
