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An all-party meeting, convened by the government on the West Asia crisis, began here on Wednesday.
The meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is being attended by several senior opposition leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri are among those present at the meeting. Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik and Tariq Anwar, Samajwadi Party leaders Dharmendra Yadav, and Javed Ali, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, LJP's Arun Bharti, DMK leader P Wilson and AAP's Sanjay Singh are among those present. JD-U is represented by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and the party's working president Sanjay Jha. No leader from the Trinamool Congress is present at the meeting. TMC MP Saugata Roy said the entire fight is ongoing with the BJP. "What meeting will we hold with them?" he asked. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made a statement in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha earlier this week, called for combined efforts of the Centre and state governments to tackle the challenges arising from the conflict in West Asia. Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, a day after his remarks in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi underscored the Government's unwavering priority of safeguarding Indians at home and abroad during times of crisis. He said that over 3,75,000 Indians have been safely brought back to India since the war began, including more than 1,000 from Iran alone, among them over 700 young medical students. While all countries have assured full security for Indians present on their soil, the Prime Minister expressed deep sorrow over the loss of Indian lives and injuries sustained due to the attacks, assuring that the Government is working with complete sensitivity during this period of crisis. "All necessary assistance is being extended to the affected families, and the best possible medical treatment is being ensured for the injured," he said. He said many ships from around the world are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and a very large number of Indian crew members are on the ships. PM Modi said around one crore Indians live and work in the Gulf countries and the safety of their lives and livelihoods is also a very big concern for India. He said more than three weeks have passed since this war began in West Asia, and it has created a serious energy crisis across the entire world. The conflict between Israel-US and Iran began on February 28. (ANI)
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