Centre working to bring Indians home amid Middle East crisis: Pralhad Joshi

Chikkamagaluru/New Delhi, Mar 1: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, on Sunday, said the Centre was making continuous efforts to ensure the safe return of Indians stranded amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, describing the situation as "volatile".

Speaking to the press at Rambhapuri Mutt in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru, Joshi said he would take up the matter with the concerned authorities in New Delhi.

"The situation there (Middle East) is very difficult. It has come to my attention that Kannada people are stranded," Joshi said.

Noting that the government was closely monitoring developments, he added, "I will go to Delhi today and talk to the concerned ministers. All efforts will be made to bring back the Indians there safely."

Referring to past evacuation operations, the Minister said, "We have successfully brought everyone back during the war in the Modi government."

He cautioned that conditions in the region remained unstable. "Currently, the situation there is turbulent. Even flying a plane there is dangerous. Our efforts are continuous to bring back the people there safely," Joshi said.

Meanwhile, the Congress, on Sunday, said the government's response to the war unleashed on Iran has been a betrayal of India's values, principles and interests, as it claimed that the nation is paying a heavy price for both the substance and style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy.

Taking a swipe at Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said India's foreign policy under the "self-styled Vishwaguru" stands brutally exposed, notwithstanding all the grandstanding on it by the cheerleaders of the PM, led by himself.

"Modi visited Israel on February 25-26, 2026, at a time when the entire world was aware that a US-Israel military attack on Iran for regime change was imminent. The assault began just two days after Mr. Modi left Israel where his speech to the Knesset was a display of shameful moral cowardice," Ramesh said on social media.

"The Modi government's response to the war unleashed on Iran that has involved targeted assassinations has been a betrayal of India's values, principles, concerns, and interests," he alleged.

Ramesh's remarks come after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States. State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an air strike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.

In his social media post, Ramesh lashed out at the Modi government's foreign policy.

"The US President continues his romance with Pakistan, applauding again and again the very man whose inflammatory remarks provided the backdrop to the terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The US has also categorically come out in support of Pakistan's war on Afghanistan," he said.

The Congress on Saturday condemned the attacks launched on Iran by the US and Israel, and called upon the Indian government to help bring the hostilities to an end and ensure the safety of all Indians in the Middle East.

The Opposition party expressed concern over the escalating hostilities in the region and urged the government to ensure that all Indians living there are safe.

PTI