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PM Modi assures safety for Indians in Middle East amid regional conflict
Millions of our brothers and sisters work there, said Modi, adding, "today’s India doesn’t leave its people in trouble; we are providing security to Indians stuck in war"
- PUBLISHED: Wed 11 Mar 2026, 4:49 PM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
The Indian government is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, assured during a visit to Kochi, Kerala on Wednesday.
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Addressing a gathering, he said the government is extending all possible help to Indians in the Gulf. He also expressed his gratitude to the Gulf leaders for taking care of Indians during the current crisis. He said: “Gulf countries are giving the utmost care to Indians working there. I am grateful to them for that.”
Modi said it was natural for people to be concerned about what’s happening in the Middle East today. He noted: “Millions of our brothers and sisters work there. But you must remember that BJP-NDA government is in power today. Whenever any of our countrymen has been in trouble, we have used all our strength to protect them. Today’s India doesn’t leave its people in trouble. We are providing security facilities to Indians stuck in the war.”
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The prime minister also took on the Congress, accusing it of playing politics over the Middle East crisis. Issues relating to the safety of Indians living abroad should not be politicised, he added.
Political heat rising
Meanwhile, with just weeks to go before state assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, the political heat is rising. This was evident in Kerala on Wednesday, during Modi’s visit, when state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan boycotted the official functions of the premier in Kochi.
Modi said the recent change in the name of the state from Kerala to Keralam by the Indian government was a ‘joyful’ moment for ‘Malayali brothers.’
He was addressing a gathering of the fishing community in the state at the golden jubilee celebration of the Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha. Launching an attack on the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and the previous, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government, he said they had neglected the fishing community in the state.
His government created a separate ministry of fisheries and took measures to bring them into the mainstream, he said, which had resulted in rapid progress in the fisheries sector.
Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues, however, stayed away from Modi’s official functions, as the state’s public works minister, P.A. Mohammed Riyas, had not been invited for the inauguration of development projects, including two stretches of the national highway.
But the state’s BJP chief, Rajeev Chandrasekhar had been invited along with the central ministers for the Kochi event, the left-front said. Chandrasekhar asked whether it was the norm to invite the entire family of the chief minister for official functions (Riyas is Vijayan’s son-in-law).
Besides inaugurating the Thalappady–Chengala and Vengalam–Ramanattukara stretches of NH66, Modi also launched some railway projects, including a new Kerala-Tamil Nadu train and laid the foundation stone for a 50 MW floating solar project in Kollam district.
