Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he assured his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi that Australia will not tolerate attacks on religious places.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Mar 12, 2023 09:34 IST
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assured PM Narendra Modi that Australia will not tolerate attacks on religious places. (File photo)
By India Today News Desk: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has assured PM Narendra Modi that Australia will not tolerate attacks on religious places and anyone responsible for such activities will face the “full force of the law”.
His comments came a day after Prime Minister Modi conveyed his concerns to Albanese over recent attacks on temples in Australia.
Australia is a country that respects people’s faith and it will not tolerate any attacks on religious buildings, be they Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues or churches, said Albanese while assuring Modi.
Before wrapping up his visit to India, Albanese told a group of Australian journalists that the country’s security agencies will make sure that anyone responsible for activities such as attacks on religious buildings will face the full force of the law.
“I gave him (PM Modi) the assurance that Australia is a country that respects people’s faith. That we don’t tolerate the sort of extreme actions and attacks that we’ve seen on religious buildings, be they Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches,” Albanese was quoted by PTI as saying.
READ | ‘Matter of regret’: PM Modi raises temple vandalism with Australian PM
Albanese was asked what assurances he conveyed to Modi to protect Hindu temples in Australia.
Prime Minister Modi raised the issue of recent attacks on temples during his talks with Albanese at the first India-Australia summit on Friday.
PM MODI RAISED CONCERN
Modi described the reports of attacks on temples in Australia over the past few weeks as a “matter of regret”.
“The Indian community is making a significant contribution to the society and economy of Australia. It is a matter of regret that attacks on temples have been regularly reported in Australia over the past few weeks,” Modi was quoted by PTI as saying.
“It is natural that such news worries the people in India, and disturbs our minds. I have shared these feelings and concerns of ours with Prime Minister Albanese. And he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is a special priority for him. Our teams will be in regular touch on this topic, and will cooperate as much as possible,” Modi said.
In his media briefing, Albanese described his visit to India as “extraordinarily successful”.
“Australia and India have a great friendship. We have complementary economies. We can grow those economies together so much more in the future,” he said. “The fact that I was accompanied here by more than 25 senior business leaders as well as 34 leaders of our clean energy industries, shows the opportunities which are there. India, as it transitions to clean energy, can work with Australia because we have complementary economies,” he added.
The Australian prime minister said cooperation in the critical minerals industry will be vital.
Albanese also said that he was looking forward to welcoming PM Modi along with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden for the Quad summit in Australia this year.
“India is a world power. It’s a major economy, but it also is a developing economy. So it can play a central role in providing that bridge between north and south that is so important going forward,” Albanese said.
