Congress stages walkout from Lok Sabha

New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI): Congress staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday over its demand to seek clarifications after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a statement on the 'Situation in Ukraine' in the House.
After the minister's statement, opposition members sought clarification from the minister.
BJP member Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, said that no permission can be given for explanations and questions on the minister's statement. "You know about Rule 372, permission cannot be given," he said.
The House then took up discussion on demands for grants for Railway Ministry.
In his statement, the minister said that despite the challenges posed by the serious ongoing conflict, the government has ensured that about 22500 citizens have returned home safely.
"As members would be aware, a tense situation between Russia and Ukraine erupted into conflict on February 24, 2022. The root causes for this are complex, going back to range of issues including the security architecture, political governance and inter-state politics. To that was added the challenges of implementing understandings reached earlier," he said.
"What is pertinent to note is that the hostilities placed the Indian community of 20,000 plus in direct danger. Even while we were participating in the global deliberations of this evolving situation in the UN Security Council, the pressing challenge was to safeguard our citizens and ensure that they were not in harm's way," he added.
The minister said that Operation Ganga was launched on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and one of the most challenging evacuation exercises during an ongoing conflict situation was undertaken. (ANI)