Khalistan propaganda event cancelled in Australia’s Sydney by city council

PTI, May 12, 2023, 4:02 PM IST

A city council in Sydney has cancelled a Khalistan propaganda event planned for next month due to security reasons, a media report said on Friday.

Acting on security agencies’ advice, permission for the event organised by the ‘Sikhs For Justice’ group in Blacktown City was revoked by the city council, The Australia Today newspaper reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Sydney on May 24 to attend the Quad Summit to be hosted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Council has, this morning, cancelled this booking as it is in conflict with adopted Council policy and due to risks to Council staff, Council assets and members of the public which cannot be practicably mitigated,” a statement by the council said.

Banners and posters of the event placed around the city were removed, citing a lack of approval.

An investigation is also underway against the Victoria-based group, the report said.

“A connection to unaccounted money trail is what we are looking into,” an official close to the matter was quoted as saying in the report.

This development comes after the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a prominent Hindu temple in Sydney was defaced last week, allegedly by pro-Khalistani elements, with anti-India graffiti on the walls, in the latest incident of vandalism against Hindu temples in the country.

In March, during the visit of Prime Minister Albanese to India, Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of frequent attacks on Hindu Temples with him and conveyed his concerns.

Albanese assured Modi that Australia would not tolerate attacks on religious places and that anyone responsible for such activities would face the “full force of the law”.