The war between Russia and Ukraine resulted in a rare united front in Indian politics on Thursday when the Opposition appreciated the government’s efforts to bring back stranded Indians from the eastern European nation.

The scenes played out at a meeting of the External Affairs Ministry’s Parliamentary Consultative Committee which was briefed on the Ukraine situation by Foreign Secretary HS Shringla.

The meeting of the 21-member committee, chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was attended by nine MPs from six parties, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

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Sources said that while most opposition parties opined that the evacuation could have taken place earlier, the government replied that “we had advised them but the students had panicked and did not understand the urgency and stayed on”.

The nearly two-hour long meeting began with a briefing by the Foreign Secretary on the evacuation plan and how the government was trying to enlist the help of friendly countries in Ukraine’s neighbourhood for safe passage to Indians, especially students. Shringla also officially informed the committee that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dispatched four ministers to coordinate the evacuation efforts.

Sources added that India’s stand to abstain from voting on the conflict in the United Nations was understood by the Opposition leaders. “Given our high stakes in Russia, it’s understandable why India cannot afford to vote against Russia,” Congress leader Anand Sharma reportedly said.

But former Rahul Gandhi is said to have expressed concerns over the Pakistan-China-Russia axis. “India must be wary and careful at its borders” he said.

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“We all are united,” Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told reporters after the meeting. “Excellent meeting of the Consultative Committee on External Affairs this morning on #Ukraine. My thanks to @DrSJaishankar & his colleagues for a comprehensive briefing & candid responses to our questions &concerns. This is the spirit in which foreign policy should be run,” he added in a tweet.

Echoing him, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi described the meeting as “very good”. “We were well briefed and stand united with the government,” she said.

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