Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Tariq Anwar on urged the central government to take every possible step to rescue the Indians held-up in Iraq and added that the situation in Iraq has been like this from several days and central government should have taken precautions, though a special envoy has been sent, the condition is getting worse every day.
Anwar also criticized central government for its apathy on the issue saying, the abduction of 40 Indians is a very worrisome issue, and they should have been evacuated when the conditions were worsening.
MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin spoke about setting up of a 24-hour 'Control Room' to provide information to all concerned people. There is a 24-hour contact helpline available and the External Affairs Minister: Sushma Swaraj, herself is regularly receiving reports and giving directions.
