Cong, Sena ask govt to bring back 39 Indian sailors stuck in China
New Delhi: Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a concerted effort to rescue Indian sailors stranded off the Chinese coast for the past several months.
In the December 30 letter which was released on Thursday, the Congress leader asked the government to "press into service all diplomatic instruments to flag global attention on Chinese atrocities on Indian sailors and securing their release from Chinese captivity".
"May I urge upon the government of India led by you that a concerted effort should be brought into motion for rescuing the sailors stranded off the Chinese coast aboard the cargo ships MV Anastasia and Jag Anand for months together without any sight of relief. They are simply victims of a trade war between China and Australia," he said in the letter.
Raising the issue with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar through a letter, Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi has also urged the Centre to bring back the 39 Indian sailors stranded in Chinese waters.
"The 39 sailors have been left to their fate without much support from the Central government and their families are struggling to get them back. The families of the sailors, many of whom are based in Maharashtra, have been running from pillar to post with no help in sight," she said.
Two cargo vessels- MV Anastasia and MV Jag Anand- with 39 Indians on board have been on anchorage in Chinese waters as they were not allowed to unload their cargo though some other ships have managed to do so.
"The impasse came due to a trade war that has forced the two vessels to drop anchor at Chinese ports. The ships were refused permission by the Chinese authorities to offload their cargo and were not even allowed to send other sailors to relieve the crew," Chaturvedi said in the letter.