"Congress has not understood Modi yet," the Prime Minister said.
Assembly elections in progress in Karnataka today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the state Congress from Rajasthan, accusing them of politicising the plight of a group of Indian tribals in Sudan. Speaking at a programme in Rajasthan, PM Modi said the Congress had put the lives of Karnataka's Hakki Pikki tribals "in danger".
What he was referring to was a series of tweets by former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had flagged the situation of the tribals stranded in the war-torn nation last month. At the time, foreign minister S Jaishankar had hit back at the senior Congress leader, alleging it was "grossly irresponsible" of him to politicize their situation. "No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," he had tweeted.
Today, speaking at a rally in Rajasthan's Sirhoi district, PM Modi said, "The BJP government was trying to get them out of Sudan but the Congress started making noise here".
"We had to bring them out quietly but the Congressmen made their faces public and by making such mistakes, they put the lives of these people in danger," he said.
The Congress, he declared, was waiting for something untoward to happen, so they could "grab Modi's collar" and play politics in Karnataka. But the party, he added, "forgot one thing". "I think the Congress has not understood Modi yet. Congress people should know this is Modi, who can cross any limit to protect every single Indian who is in trouble," he added.
The Hakki Pikki, tribals making a living from natural plant-based medicine, had ended up in Sudan where many depend on traditional medicine. When the war broke out, 31 of them got stranded. Originally from Rajasthan, they were said to have settled in Karnataka huundreds of years ago.
The Congress had accused the government of inaction. In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah said, "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 (Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, EAM Jaishankar, and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Bommai) to immediately intervene & ensure their safe return".
Another of his tweets read, "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. (The BJP) govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis".
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces that has reportedly left around 400 people dead, driven more than 100,000 to flee across the borders and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the country.
Since last month, the government has been evacuating stranded Indians through Operation Kaveri.