Jaishankar, Siddaramaiah in Twitter duel over tribals stranded in Sudan

A war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the latter's tweets on tribals from Karnataka stuck in trouble-hit Sudan.

It was all started after Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP government for its "inaction" in bringing back the stranded Hakki Pikkis tribals from Sudan. "Hakki Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since the last few days & the govt is yet to initiate action to bring them back. @BJP4India govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis," he tweeted.

In the follow-up post, he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to immediately intervene and ensure the safe return of the stranded people.

The External Affairs Minister then hit out at Siddaramaiah for "politicising" the issue. "Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; don't do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian nationals and PIOs in Sudan," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," he added.

Jaishankar said plans regarding them have to take into account a "very complicated" security scenario and that the Indian embassy in Sudan is in constant touch with MEA over the situation in that country. "It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicise their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," he said.

Siddaramaiah has now sharply responded to Jaishankar's response. "Since you are the External Affairs Minister, I have appealed you for help. If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back," he tweeted back.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last five days. Over 270 people have been killed and over 2,600 injured, the World Health Organization (WHO) officials said citing Sudan's Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre.

The fighting started between nation's two top Generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, on Saturday which has left millions trapped in their homes or wherever they could find shelter.

Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Sudan on Monday issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm. Earlier, it claimed that said an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.