Key Points

In a detailed post on social media platform X, Union Minister Rijiju said that nearly 23,000 Indian students were trapped in the conflict zone when the war broke out in 2022, and ensuring their safe return back home became the Indian government's foremost priority.

"I still vividly remember the urgency and intensity with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji approached the entire rescue operation. His meticulous planning and personal involvement made Operation Ganga a success," he wrote.

The Union Minister recalled that around midnight, he received a call from the Prime Minister, directing him to leave for Slovakia to oversee evacuation efforts.

Since flights could not operate in the Ukrainian airspace, Indian nationals were being moved to neighbouring countries.

Union Minister Rijiju, along with three other Union Ministers, was assigned to different border nations to coordinate the mission.

"The very next morning, we met the Prime Minister and received his detailed guidance. By then, all necessary arrangements had already been made by his office. Visas were ready, documentation was in place, and local teams were deployed in each assigned country," Union Minister Rijiju said, adding that Union Ministers were directly connected with foreign government officials, local authorities, and NGOs.

Union Minister Rijiju noted that officials in Slovakia and other host nations expressed surprise at the scale and speed of India's evacuation exercise.

"No other country had managed such a well-organised, swift evacuation effort," he said.

Calling it a lesson in leadership, Union Minister Rijiju emphasised that the operation succeeded due to PM Modi's foresight and hands-on approach.

"Witnessing the operation up close showed me what true leadership really is: a deep personal sense of responsibility for every single citizen," he said.

Operation Ganga, launched in February 2022, facilitated the evacuation of more than 20,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, from Ukraine through neighbouring countries such as Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

- IANS