Development comes just days after PM Modi met the Australian PM and conveyed India’s concerns over vandalism of several Hindu temples
Melbourne: The Indian Consulate in Brisbane was forced to close down temporarily today after Khalistani supporters blocked the entrance y raising slogans against the Hindus, an IANS report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says
The incident took placcce just days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s assurance to curb anti-India elements in the country, a media report said.
According to The Australia Today, slogans were raised against Hindus calling them ‘supremacists’ at the Consulate, which is located on Swann Road in the Taringa suburb of Brisbane.
The Queensland Police said it was an unauthorised gathering.
“Indian Consulate was forced to close today due to safety concerns after Sikhs for Justice targeted them with their propaganda,” Sarah L. Gates, Director of Hindu Human Rights, told The Australia Today.
“They have been shouting Khalistan Zindabad slogans,” Gates said, adding that there is a heavy police presence in the area.
“These thugs should not be allowed to dictate how we live our life in Australia,” Parvinder Singh, a resident of Queensland who took leave from work to attend an appointment at Indian Consulate, told The Australia Today.
The development comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Albanese and conveyed India’s concerns over vandalism of several Hindu temples, allegedly by the activists demanding Khalistan.
In response, Albanese said Australia won’t tolerate any extreme actions and attacks, and that there is no place for such action against Hindu temples, while addressing a press meet in New Delhi.
Last month, Khalistani flags were found attached to the Indian Consulate in Brisbane, just days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Australia.
Since early 2023, Hindu temples in Australia have seen a spurt in vandalism by Khalistani elements, defacing the walls with anti-India slogans and graffiti.
Indians in Australia said they are “angry, scared and dismayed by the blatant display of religious hatred towards the peaceful Hindu community by Khalistan supporters”.
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