The Indian Foreign Minister calls the vandalism of Hindu temples very worrying

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday the vandalism of a Hindu temple in Canada on Monday was deeply concerning.

“What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was clearly very worrying,” he told reporters in the Australian capital Canberra during an official visit.

The incident occurred weeks after Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. Canada has accused the Indian government of waging a broad campaign against South Asian dissidents in Canada, which New Delhi denies.

The incident has increased tensions between Canada and India, and between Sikh separatists and Indian diplomats.

Two Hindu temples were also vandalized in Canberra last month, which Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said was disturbing to members of the Indian community.

“People across Australia have the right to be safe and respected, people also have the right to peacefully protest, people have the right to express their views peacefully,” she told reporters.

“We draw a line between that and violence, incitement to hatred or vandalism,” she added.

Wong said Australia had expressed its views to India on Canada’s allegations over the attacks on Sikh separatists, and that Canberra respected Canadian justice.

Jaishankar said it was unacceptable that Indian diplomats had been placed under surveillance by Canada.

“Canada has developed a pattern of making accusations without providing details,” he said.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney, Editing by Alasdair Pal and Lincoln Feast.)