'Strange': India on Canada banning Australia media outlet after it aired Jaishankar's interview

EAM Jaishankar

Canada on Thursday banned the social media handles of media outlet Australia Today hours after it aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's presser where he spoke about the India-Canada diplomatic standoff.

Australia Today had aired a joint press conference of Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Sydney.

Watch: On Canada banning an Australian media outlet Australia Today, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "...Yes, you heard it correctly. We also understand that the social media handles and pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been pic.twitter.com/mo44twVCnv

IANS (@ians_india) November 7, 2024

"...Yes, you heard it correctly. We also understand that the social media handles and pages of this outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are no longer available for viewers in Canada. This happened just a few hours after this outlet carried a press conference of the External Affairs Minister along with Penny Wong. The outlet also published several articles on the visit of the External Affairs Minister, as well as an interview with him. So, we were surprised. It seems strange to us...,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Jaiswal said during the press interaction that political space was being given to anti-India elements in Canada. He said the Australia Today channel was blocked because the minister criticised Canada.

S Jaishankar on Tuesday  came down heavily on Canada over the attack on a Hindu temple in Brampton. He also touched upon India's charge that Canada had illegally placed Indian diplomats under surveillance.