Melbourne:

Describing the blocking of leading diaspora publication ‘Australia Today’ by Canada as “free press murder”, its founder and editor-in-chief Jitarth Jai Bhardwaj questioned the Justin Trudeau government about the rights of the Hindu community in Australia. The country is not supported as they face “repeated attacks on places of worship”.

This comes after Canada blocked the channel’s social media accounts and pages soon after it aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra. During the press release, EAM criticized Canada for making allegations against India without any specific evidence and stated that “surveillance of Indian diplomats” was unacceptable and also emphasized that “political space has been given to anti-India elements in Canada”.

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also criticized Canada for its “hypocrisy towards freedom of expression” after ‘The Australia Today’ was blocked in the country.

After the Trudeau government blocked it, Mr. Bhardwaj expressed concern about the move and said the publication would continue to advocate for open media.

In an interview with ANI, Mr. Bhardwaj described how his supporters informed them that they were unable to access streaming content in Canada. After this, they came to know that EAM Jaishankar’s press conference and interview had been removed from the social media platform.

“We learned from many of our readers and followers who follow our page that they could no longer watch or view our content, which they could watch 10-15 minutes ago on Facebook and Instagram. They wanted to share this with their friends and colleagues, and suddenly the press conference and interview were removed from the Facebook page and there it was determined that this content was subject to Canadian government legislation.” “A notice was written stating that it could not be viewed in Canada,” he said.

Condemning the Trudeau government’s “dictatorship” move as “the murder of press freedom”, the broadcast editor said that there should be room for different views in democracy.

“This is a murder of freedom of the press. This is not freedom of speech, this is not how democracies behave and this is the way dictators oppress and oppress the press. In every democracy there is room for different views and different views. The press will discuss, interpret and analyze all these different views,” said Mr. Bhardwaj.

He added, “Apparently Canada, India and Australia are not very happy with the way we asked their foreign ministers questions, and they are not happy to see that many Canadians are responding and trying to educate themselves. The Canadian government has been making propaganda for a long time.”

The Australia Today founder further elaborated on his channel’s news coverage and said they aim to provide coverage of the “vibrant” Indian democracy, which he says has been “left out”.

“Australia Today is a news organization working for multicultural communities in the West. From the UK, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Singapore and the hard-working and “But their stories matter, they are left out by the so-called mainstream media, and this platform highlights issues that are crucial to Australia Today, the Indian Australian community and the Indian diaspora as a whole.”

While Mr Bhardwaj noted that ‘The Australia Today’ news was appreciated far and wide for highlighting the state of Indian society, he also shed light on the ‘threats’ the publication had received. He alleged that his news platform and its journalists were threatened by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and other Khalistani extremists, designated as terrorists by India.

“Our news about what Khalistani groups are going on in Canada or the USA was getting a lot of attention there. Our news was appreciated everywhere. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened us after posting a video. He put my pictures and My Team is online telling their supporters to harm us in different ways. This “It continues and we constantly report without fear,” he said.

Addressing the situation in Canada, the editor-in-chief of ‘The Australia Today’ said the Hindu community was “attacked, persecuted and suppressed” not only by extremist elements but also by the police and authorities.

He also said that his channel is willing to interview Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ministers and ask why their rights are not being implemented in his country while the Hindu community is facing one undesirable event after another.

“I am just a reporter. I can report what is happening. So I can say that right now the Hindu community is being attacked in Canada. The Hindu community in Canada is being persecuted by the police, the RCMP and the authorities. Everyone is working as if Canada is suppressing the rights of Hindu citizens,” Mr. Bhardwaj said. .

“That’s what I’m seeing right now and that’s what we’re reporting. If Trudeau or his ministers are happy to talk to us, we’re happy to interview them and ask the simple questions that every journalist should be asking them right now. Why are the Hindu community in Canada being treated the way they’re being treated? Why are they being treated the way they’re being treated?” “Why are their rights not being protected? Why are their temples being attacked? These are the questions that Trudeau needs to answer right now,” he added.

When asked if ‘The Australia Today’ would defy the Canadian government’s order, the editor said they would focus on reporting Canadian citizens’ issues without fear.

“I don’t think the Canadian government is listening right now. But we won’t stop doing what we do, which is reporting. Reporting on the issues of Canadian citizens, Indigenous Canadians and multilingual communities. We will continue to do that.” Bhardwaj emphasized.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is syndicated.)