- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
A political controversy broke out in India recently over 31 members of an Indian tribal community getting stranded in Sudan where fierce fighting started between the army and paramilitary forces for power on April 15.
The Sudan issue became linked with the upcoming election in the southern state of Karnataka after Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister of the state and a leader of the opposition Indian National Congress, accused the Narendra Modi government of doing little for the members of the Hakki Pikki tribe from Karnataka stuck in the African nation.
India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hit back at Siddaramaiah accusing him of doing politics when lives were in danger. The former chief minister too replied to the diplomat as did his party.
The controversy has revived again after the Modi government launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate the Indian nationals stranded in Sudan with the Congress, which is eyeing a return to power in Karnataka ahead of next year’s general elections, slamming Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the name saying it did so to influence the May 10 polls.
The BJP is also in power in Karnataka and keeping no stone unturned to ensure that it returns to power this time although Karnataka’s political history is not known for the ruling party defeating the anti-incumbency mood.
Sanket Yenagi, president of Karnataka chapter of the Congress, lashed out at the Modi government hours after it launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate around 3,000 Indians from Sudan, Firstpost reported.
“Evacuating Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan is the responsibility of the Indian government and they are not doing the charity. It is the constitutional duty,” Yenagi was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
The leader also alleged that to cover up its “lapses, lacuna, negligence and delay to immediately bring the stranded Indians back, the BJP took actions after being revolted by Congress and people against their inaction.”
“They have named it operation Kaveri. The name Kaveri is from Karnataka. They (BJP) are keeping an eye on Karnataka elections so they have named it as operation Kaveri. I have no objection with naming the operation Kaveri but have issue with the timing,” Yenagi said.
“Operation, especially rescue operation, should not be politicised in order to get sympathy votes. BJP is playing cheap politics,” he added.
Kaveri is the name of a major south Indian river that originates in Karnataka. It is not only a major source of water in the state and other adjacent regions but also has an emotional appeal to the people of the state or Kannadigas who worship it as Goddess Kaveriamma (Mother Kaveri). Karnataka also has a major dispute over sharing of the rivers of Kaveri with the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
Modi announced about his government launching the mission to bring back Indians from Sudan during an event in the southern state Kerala earlier this week. He also said that he had asked junior external affairs minister V Muraleedharan to travel to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to supervise the rescue efforts in the African nation.
The BJP hit back at Yenagi’s accusation saying the opposition party was indulging in “third class level of politics” because of the upcoming elections.
“Such issues are of national importance and should not be politicised. What is important is to safely bring back those stranded in Sudan,” Prakash was quoted as saying by Firstpost.
On Monday (24), a report by the Asian News International quoted a top source saying that the name ‘Operation Kaveri’ has been chosen on the same lines as that Modi chose to name the operation to evacuate Indians in war-hit Ukraine as ‘Operation Ganga’.
“Rivers reach their destination irrespective of barriers. It’s like a mother who will ensure she will bring her children back to safety,” another source was quoted by ANI on the naming of the operation in Sudan by the Modi government.
More than 450 people have been killed in the clashes in Sudan while over 4,000 have been injured.
