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By Akshay Dongare: Michael Sukkar, a Member of Parliament from Australia on a visit to India, condoned the recent acts of vandalism and violence against the Hindu community by Khalistan sympathisers in his country.
Last month, the Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane was attacked by Khalistani extremists, with the boundary of the temple vandalised with hateful graffiti. This was the fourth attack on Hindu temples in just two months.
Earlier, on January 23, the walls of the ISCKON temple in Melbourne’s Albert Park were vandalised with graffiti that read ‘Hindustan murdabad’. On January 16, the Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Victoria’s Carrum Downs was vandalised, while the Swaminarayan temple in Melbourne was defaced on January 12 with anti-India graffiti.
Also Read | Hindu temple vandalised, walls defaced with graffiti in Australia’s Brisbane
Speaking on the issue, Sukkar said, “I myself am a migrant. My family migrated from Lebanon and we have always said ‘don’t bring problems from home to Australia’. You do not bring your domestic issues and differences when you come here.”
“Violence and vandalism cannot be tolerated. Our stand is very clear that violence is not acceptable in any way, shape or form,” he added.
Speaking about Australia’s zero-tolerance for violence and hate crimes against any community, the Member of Parliament from Deakin said, “India is a large and diverse country. It has been a successful democracy because people have been able to solve their differences and that’s one thing Australia and India share. We are not perfect, but there are always ways of solving differences and issues. But violence and vandalism are not acceptable. We have zero tolerance for it.”
Also Read | Temple in Australia vandalised with anti-India graffiti, 2nd attack in 7 days
Sukkar also said that his constituency is home to a large majority of the Indian diaspora, with over 10,000 members of the Indian-Australian community living there.
“Every single constituent of mine from the Australian-Indian community urged me to visit India, and now I’m here to understand the country better and forge stronger Indo-Australian ties,” he said.
Also Read | Hindu temple in Australia defaced with anti-India graffiti by Khalistan supporters: Report
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