Australia will not tolerate any extreme actions and attacks that have taken place in religious buildings and there is no place for such actions against Hindu temples, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference in New Delhi, an official statement said today.
Asked by the media about the assurances the Australian prime minister had given to his Indian counterpart, Albanese said: “I gave him an assurance that Australia is a country that respects people’s beliefs. That we do not tolerate these kind of extreme actions and attacks.” which we have seen on religious buildings, be it Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues or churches. That has no place in Australia.’
“And we will take every measure through our police as well as our security agencies to ensure that whoever is responsible faces the full force of the law. We are a tolerant multicultural nation and there is no place for this activity in Australia,” he added. ” the statement quoted him as saying.
Earlier, India-Australia: Exchange of agreements and press statements on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that in light of the recent attacks on temples in Australia, the Australian Prime Minister assured that the safety and well-being of the Indian community in Australia is his priority.
“From the past few weeks, there have been regular reports of attacks on temples in Australia. It is natural that such reports worry people in India. I have conveyed these concerns to Prime Minister Albanese, who has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is a special priority for him.” PM Modi said.
Recently, in the first week of March, the Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane, Australia was vandalized by pro-Khalistan supporters.
Speaking to The Australia Today, Temple President Satinder Shukla said, “The temple priest and devotees called me this morning and informed me about the vandalism on the boundary wall of our temple.”
Sarah Gates, director of Hindu Human Rights, said: “This latest hate crime is an example of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) around the world, clearly attempting to terrorize Australian Hindus. Coupled with a barrage of propaganda, illegal signage and cyberbullying, the organization intends to present pervasive threats, fear and intimidation,” for The Australia Today.
In January, the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Australia’s Carrum Downs was vandalized with anti-Hindu graffiti.
The act was noticed on January 16 after temple devotees came for “darshan” in the middle of the three-day “Thai Pongal” festival celebrated by Australia’s Tamil Hindu community, The Australia Today reported.
On the evening of 15 January 2023, supporters of Khalistan attempted to gain support for their referendum through a car rally in Melbourne. Unfortunately, they did not succeed, because according to the newspaper The Australia Today, less than two hundred people gathered from a Melbourne community of almost 60,000.
A week before the above incident, on January 12, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Australia’s Mill Park was daubed with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti.
The temple was vandalized by anti-Indian elements with anti-Indian slogans written on the walls of the temple, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported. Patel, an onlooker, shared how he witnessed the vandalized walls of the temple when he visited the site.