Concern in upper house over Indians stuck in Iraq

Rajya Sabha members Friday raised concern over Indians stuck in strife-torn Iraq, and urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to make a statement on the issue.

Members also raised concern over the attack on Palestine by Israel.

Raising the issue in the upper house, K.N. Balagopal of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said several Indians continue to be trapped in Iraq.

"We don't have a record on how many Indians are working in Iraq. Like the Kuwait war, we should send aircraft to get our citizens back," Balagopal said.

P. Rajeev of the CPI-M informed the house that some Indians trapped there may have their passports seized by employers.

As several members matched the concern, Sharad Yadav of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) said: "It is a very important issue, the external affairs minister should make a detailed statement on it."

The members also raised concern over Israel's attacks on Palestine, and urged the government to take a stand on the issue.

Raising the issue, K.C. Tyagi of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) said India should make an appeal to the United Nations (UN).

"The external affairs minister (Sushma Swaraj) has not said anything on the issue. A permanent solution must be found to the confrontation between Palestine and Israel," Tyagi said.

"India should appeal to the UN on the issue," he said, recalling the ties between India and Palestine in the past and the non-aligned movement.

"The non-aligned movement was started by India, we had good relations with Palestine in Yasser Arafat's time," he said.

Several other members echoes Tyagi's concern.