Hypocrisy: India as Canada bans Australian outlet after Jaishankar's presser aired

India slammed Canada's move to ban Australia Today, hours after it aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks on Khalistani extremism in Canada, saying it highlighted Ottawa's hypocrisy towards freedom of speech.

In Short

• India slammed Canada's move to ban Australia Today for airing Jaishankar's remarks
• Jaishankar, in Australia, spoke about pro-Khalistani attacks in Canada in presser
• Incident comes amid escalating diplomatic row between India and Canada

Canada has banned Australia Today, hours after the outlet aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's press conference in Australia, where he gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff and Khalistani extremism in Canada. In a hard-hitting response, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada's move to ban the outlet and stressed that it highlighted Ottawa's hypocrisy towards freedom of speech.

Earlier in the day, Australia Today, an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

"We understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. This happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. We were surprised. It looks strange to us," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing in Delhi.

"But, nonetheless, what I will say is that these are actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. You would have seen that the External Affairs Minister, in his media engagements, spoke about three things. One was Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence. The second thing he highlighted was surveillance of Indian diplomats happening in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable," he said.

"The third thing which he highlighted was the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. So you can draw your conclusions from that, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada," he further said.

Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

The incident came days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistanis at a Hindu temple in Canada's Brampton, with Jaishankar calling it "deeply concerning". Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were "cowardly attempts" to "intimidate" Indian diplomats.

Earlier, India "condemned acts of violence perpetrated by extremists and separatists", and called on Canada to ensure that all places of worship are adequately protected.

The diplomatic row between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Last month, ties nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a "person of interest" in its probe into Nijjar's murder. India vehemently dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada's acting High Commissioner.