New Delhi, Apr 15 (IANS): Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the Union Government to bring back the workers stranded in the Middle East where they are left out of work. He said thousands of Indian workers are in deep distress and desperate to return home and the government should bring them back and put in mandatory quarantine.

Rahul Gandhi said, "The Covid-19 crisis and shutting of businesses in the Middle East have left thousands of Indian workers in deep distress and desperate to return home. The Govt must organise flights to bring home our brothers and sisters most in need of assistance, with quarantine plans in place."

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed the Supreme Court on Monday that there are 13 million Indians - including NRIs and students stranded abroad and the government is seeking to minimise the severe risk posed by arrivals from an increasing number of countries affected by Covid-19.

The government has urged the Indian nationals to stay put where they are to contain the further spread of the virus within India and allow the health machinery to focus on domestic containment effectively. In the UK, there are about 400,000 Indian nationals, including about 50,000 students. The UK government has now extended visas till May 31 and has issued necessary guidelines.

"However, given the present situation of the coronavirus outbreak in India and the available limited resources, it is not feasible to selectively evacuate Indian citizens from abroad when a large number of them from a number of countries want to return back due to various reasons," said the MEA in its reply to the Supreme Court.