Why were students not brought back earlier from war-hit Ukraine: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wondered why were students not brought back earlier from war-torn Ukraine and said it is the Centre's responsibility to evacuate Indians stranded in the east European country.

She also said the central government should realise that humanity is more important than politics and urged it to take a lead role in peace talks.

"It is the Union government's responsibility to bring back Indians stuck in war-hit Ukraine. I don't want to criticise the government on matters of external affairs. But sometimes I have seen that we are lagging behind on matters of external affairs because of some coordination gap and political businesses.

"Our students are stuck there, and somebody died. Some are staying in bunkers, and some are in Romania, a neighbour of Ukraine," Banerjee said.

Her comments came a day after a medical student from Karnataka's Haveri district was killed in intense shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, marking India's first casualty in the war.

Banerjee spoke to reporters before leaving for Uttar Pradesh to campaign for the Samajwadi Party in the ongoing assembly polls there.

"If the government was aware of the facts, why did not it bring back students earlier? This is a fault and negligence," she said.

"Humanity is more important than politics, and the central government should realise this. Lives of students are more important than politics," Banerjee said.

She also said India could take the lead in peace talks.

"The COVID-19 outbreak has destroyed everything. Now, if there is war, everything will be ruined. I am in favour of peace, not war. The pandemic has already destroyed a lot. India can lead talks to maintain world peace," she said.

Asked whether her request for an all-party meeting has received any response, Banerjee said, "I have done my duty. Now it is for them to decide. Maybe they are busy with elections."

Banerjee had recently offered unconditional support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Ukraine crisis and requested him to consider calling an all-party meeting to take a united stand on the issue.