The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that a recent documentary by Australia’s ABC News about the Narendra Modi government contains “blatant untruths” and “reflects unprofessional reporting”.
While the ministry spokesperson did not name the documentary he was referring to, his comments came in response to a reporter’s question about recent reports in the Australian media claiming that the country had expelled several alleged Indian spies.
The ABC News on June 17 released a documentary titled Spies, secrets and threats: How the Modi regime targets people overseas. It features an investigation into an alleged “nest of [Indian] spies” and Australian residents who claim to have been threatened by Indian authorities.
ABC News is a subsidiary of the Australian national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“It is a documentary and I would like to respond to the documentary per se,” said ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “Because the documentary has several elements to it. It contains blatant untruths. I would urge you to please have a look at the documentary. It is biased and reflects unprofessional reporting.”
He added: “It appears to serve a particular agenda to malign India. We obviously oppose any attempts to condone or justify or even glorify terrorism.”
According to Jaiswal, the “very basis of this documentary is something that is questionable”.
The documentary features Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s former South Asia bureau chief Avani Dias.
Dias had left India weeks in April after being told by the Indian government that her visa would not be extended due to her reporting on a Sikh separatist’s killing. She was told that her “election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive”.
On April 30, The Sydney Morning Herald also claimed in a report that Australia expelled two Indian spies in 2020 after they were allegedly caught stealing classified information about sensitive defence projects, airport security and the country’s trade relationships.
The report claimed that in 2021, Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, had mentioned the alleged “spy ring” in his annual threat assessment.
A report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation published on the same day said that the national security officials and government officials had confirmed that India’s foreign intelligence service was responsible for this alleged “nest of spies”.
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