Indian Consulate in Brisbane briefly shut due to Khalistani menace: Report

Melbourne, March 15

The Indian Consulate in Brisbane was forced to close down temporarily today after Khalistani supporters blocked the entry raising slogans against the Hindus, 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 unauthorized 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 that Australia won't tolerate any extreme actions and attacks that took place in religious buildings, and 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.

Beginning 2023, Hindu temples in Australia have seen a spurt in vandal attacks 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".

--IANS