New Delhi, March 05, 2022 (PPI-OT):Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Karnataka’s Hubli-Dharwad, Aravind Bellad, has stoked controversy by saying that eight to ten people can be accommodated on a plane in the space taken up by a dead body. Aravind said this when asked about repatriation of the body of an Indian student who was killed in shelling in Ukraine will be brought back.

The student, Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Haveri district of Karnataka, was killed in shelling on Tuesday (March 01), in Kharkiv city of Ukraine. The 21-year-old was studying MBBS fourth year at the Kharkiv National Medical University.

Addressing media persons in Dharwad Bellad said, “The government is putting in efforts to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen. Ukraine is a war zone and everyone is aware of it. Efforts are being made and, if possible, the body will be brought back.”

However, he went on to add, “While the situation is very difficult to bring back those who are alive, it’s even more onerous to bring back the dead because a dead body will consume more space on the flight. Eight to 10 people can be accommodated in the place of a dead body.”

Meanwhile, Naveen’s father Shekharappa Gyanagowda said that he was assured by the government that the body would be brought back “within two days”. He said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to help bring his son’s body home.

Bellad’s comments come close on the heels of Indian minister Pralhad Joshi’s remarks who had said 90% of Indian students who study medicine abroad fail to qualify medical entrance exam in India – National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). These comments have attracted sharp criticism from the opposition, accusing the government and the ruling BJP of being insensitive at the time of tragedy.

Taking to Twitter, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Drunk with arrogance, power has gone into the head of heartless BJP leaders, particularly from Karnataka. (Union minister) Pralhad Joshi calls children in Ukraine as those ‘who failed NEET’. Arvind Bellad has lost his balance. Insensitivity and cruelty are now in BJP’s DNA.”

Although the evacuation of Indian nationals from countries bordering Ukraine continues, the opposition has accused the BJP of “milking a tragedy” for deriving political mileage in the poll-bound states. Thousands of Indians remain stranded in war-hit country. Several stranded Indians have expressed concerns over the government’s evacuation efforts.

However, the government has been patting itself on the back. Along with Prime Minister Modi, several BJP leaders have referred to the government’s evacuation efforts during election rallies in Uttar Pradesh highlighting that they were only possible due to the “strong leadership” given by the BJP.

At a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur, Modi said, “You can see the situation in Ukraine. India is working round the clock to bring back all Indian students and other citizens from there. We have already evacuated thousands of students under Operation Ganga.”

Uttar Pradesh’s deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at a rally said, “Currently, Russia and Ukraine are at war. Indian students in Ukraine are caught in this situation. But, all that they have to do is show the flag of India. On seeing the Indian flag, the armies of both Russia and Ukraine aren’t saying anything. Indian students are being brought back home in special planes sent by the Modi government for them. That’s the power of India, that’s the concern of Modi.”

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