‘MEA denied nod to use Koliwad’s jet to bring Naveen’s body’

NT Correspondent

Blaming the Exter nal Af fairs Ministry and the Government of India for the death of medical student Naveen Shekarappa Gyangoudar in the missile attack by Russia in Ukraine recently, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah said ministry officials have not responded to a letter written by former Assembly Speaker, K.B. Koliwad’s son that his private plane can be used to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen from war-torn Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters after consoling Naveen’s family members at Chalageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district on Wednesday, he said like others, Naveen too had gone to Ukraine to study medicine when the tragedy struck. Prima facie it looks like the Government of India did not act in a responsible manner. Even the Ministry of External Affairs would have had information that Russian troops may invade Ukraine and could have airlifted stranded Indians in advance. This has been done by other countries but not by India. The life of Naveen could have been saved if the Indian government had brought back all its nationals from Ukraine in time, he claimed.

He demanded that the Government of India and the External Affairs Minister make arrangements for bringing back the mortal remains of Naveen to India. The Opposition leader said that Naveen reportedly wanted to start a hospital in his village to treat poor patients . Youth with such passion could have been an asset to the country and his death is a huge loss.

“I don’t want to politicize it but as far as this particular issue is concerned, the government of India has failed completely. Union Minister Prahlad Joshi’s statement that Naveen failed to get a seat in a government medical college through NEET due to which he went abroad to study medicine, is highly condemnable”.It is but natural for students who fail to get seats here to go abroad for studies. This is not the time to discuss the pros and cons of distribution of seats in medical colleges depending upon the NEET ranking which can be discussed some other day, he quipped.