New Delhi, Mar 1 (IANS): The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the government should convene all-party meet on Ukraine and apprise the situation to the parliamentarians.

Gaurav Gogoi, party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha said, "At such a crucial time in history, Prime Minister Modi should convene an all-party parliamentary meeting on the Russian-Ukraine war. Such a dialogue will help the Indian government take the best possible step forward."

The Congress has been critical of the government's evacuation exercise and said it should deter from making it a public relations exercise, "India has glorious history of 30+ evacuations -- "There should be no politics on ongoing evacuations but at same time no drum beating in election rallies should be done till every single Indian stranded is rescued -- GOI must pressure Russia to ensure safety of Indians caught in crossfire."

The Prime Minister on Monday evening chaired a high-level meeting, his second on Monday, to review the ongoing efforts under Operation Ganga to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine, and said that the entire government machinery is working round the clock to ensure that all Indian nationals there are safe and secure.

"India has never abandoned it's citizens & always evacuated them from war zones. Gulf War, Kuwait, 1991: 150,000+, Op Sukoon, Lebanon, 2006: 2,300, Op Home Coming, Libya, 2011: 15,000, Op Raahat, Yemen, 2015: 4,650 PM should remember evacuation is his duty not PR exercises for it," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, in a tweet on Monday.