Today India doesn’t ask for help, but offers it: Anurag Thakur on ‘Operation Ajay’

NEW DELHI: Hours after a chartered flight with Indian citizens, caught up in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, arrived in the national capital, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday said the Centre extracted countrymen from similar conflict zones over the last nine years, adding that the government no longer seeks the assistance of other countries in such mission but offers it instead.

As many as 212 Indian nationals from Israel arrived at the Delhi airport as part of ‘Operation Ajay’, on Friday morning.

The operation was launched to repatriate Indians from Israel amid the ongoing offensive in Gaza, which followed the multi-pronged terror attacks from terror outfit Hamas.

Speaking to ANI on Friday about the ongoing operation to extract Indians willing to return amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Union minister said, “Whether it was during the Covid-19 pandemic or the Ukraine-Russia conflict or the ‘Arab Spring’ (civilian uprising in Egypt), India has successfully one such mission after another to bring back every single citizen from conflict zones. We have carried out many such missions over the last 9 and a half years. Not just our citizens, we have also rescued foreign nationals from conflict zones as well. Today, India does not ask for help, rather it offers assistance to others.”

Earlier, on Friday, the first batch of Indians from Israel arrived to chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. With folded hands, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar personally greeted the returnees. He also interacted with students flying in from Israel. The minister reassured passengers of the Centre’s “unwavering commitment” to the safety of every Indian overseas. “Prime Minister Modi is determined to protect all Indians overseas,” he added.