New Delhi:

Australian journalist Avani Dias stirred up a storm when she claimed that she was asked to leave India because of her reporting, a charge that the Centre has called ‘misleading’.

Who Is Avani Dias

Avani Dias is the South Asia bureau chief at Australia’s ABC News and is based in New Delhi. Previously she was the host of the current affairs show Hack on the youth radio station Triple J.

Ms Dias has won and been nominated for various journalistic awards, including the Public Interest Award at the New South Wales Premier’s Multicultural Communications Awards in 2019.

She published a video report on YouTube last month about India’s alleged involvement in the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, a claim made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia in June. He was chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted terrorists. India has termed the allegations “absurd” and “motivated”.

What Is Her Claim?

The 32-year-old journalist claims that she faced problems extending her visa after a critical report about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. She claims she was asked to leave India abruptly and not allowed to cover the Lok Sabha elections.

Avani Dias said on social media platform X that she returned to Australia last week after being told by a government official that she wouldn’t get an extension on her visa because of her reporting.

“Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi Government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting “crossed a line”. After Australian Government intervention, I got a mere two-month extension …less than 24 hours before my flight,” she said in a post on X (formerly Twitter)

We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive. We left on day one of voting in the national election in what Modi calls “the mother of democracy”.

Hear more on our podcast Looking for Modi: https://t.co/rn6wTkdI21

— Avani Dias (@AvaniDias) April 22, 2024

“We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive,” Ms Dias added.

India’s Response

Sources within the Union government have called Ms Dias’s claims “misleading and mischievous” insisting that the journalist had violated visa rules but was still given an assurance that her visa would be extended so she could cover the elections.

“The contention of Avani Dias, South Asia correspondent of Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that she was not allowed to cover elections and was compelled to leave the country is not correct, misleading and mischievous,” the source said.

“Ms Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits. In spite of this, at her request, she was assured that her visa would be extended for the coverage of the general elections. Her previous visa was valid till 20th April 2024,” the source added.

Moreover, the sources emphasised that her claims about not being permitted to cover elections are also factually incorrect, adding that covering election activities outside of booths is permitted to all visa-holder journalists.

Is Avani Dias Covering The Elections Now?

The ABC journalist has been given a two-month visa extension to cover the Lok Sabha polls after lobbying by the office of Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and other diplomats, ABC News reported. The notification came 24 hours before Ms Dias was due to leave the country, she said.

But she chose to leave India.

Australian officials have said that Ms Dias chose to leave the country of her own will even though the Indian authorities had extended her visa.

Australia is pleased that the Indian government granted a visa for the journalist though by that time she had chosen to leave India,” a source from the Australian High Commission told The Hindu.

Washington:

The US on Thursday (local time) rebuked a Pakistani reporter’s questions on allegations of an Australian journalist’s claims not allowed to cover Indian general elections and said that the country determines which non-citizens it allows to enter, either as short-term travellers or international journalists.

Responding to a question by a Pakistani reporter on allegations of denial of visa renewal to Australian journalist, Avani Dias, US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “The Government of India can speak to its own visa policy. That’s not something I’m going to opine on from here.”

Patel further emphasised the role of the free press in the fabric of democracy.

“Broadly, we have been clear with countries around the world about the integral role that a free press plays in the fabric of democracy. That’s why we come up here and take questions regularly. But I will let the officials in India speak,” he said.

Avani Dias, an Australian journalist, claimed that she was not allowed to cover the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and was compelled to leave the country. However, the sources highlighted that her claims are “not correct, misleading and mischievous.”

However, sources said that Avani Dias, South Asia Correspondent of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was also found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits while “undertaking her professional pursuits.”

Meanwhile, at her request, Ms Dias was assured that her visa would be extended for the coverage of the general elections.

Moreover, the sources emphasised that Avani Dias’s claims about not being permitted to cover elections are also factually incorrect, adding that covering election activities outside of booths is permitted to all visa-holder journalists.

During the press briefing, Mr Patel also denied making any remark on the internal investigation report by the Indian Government on the alleged assassination plot of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

He said, “I’m not aware of the report that you’re referencing. This is ultimately a Department of Justice matter and I will defer to them and let them speak to this.”

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is an India-designated terrorist who holds American and Canadian citizenship. He has repeatedly issued threats against India.

As per the US Justice Department indictment, an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, who is currently in custody, has been charged with the murder-for-hire of Pannun. The US Justice Department had claimed that an Indian government employee, who was not identified in the indictment filed, had recruited Gupta to hire a hitman to allegedly assassinate Pannun, which was foiled by US authorities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Avani Dias, chief of bureau of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. File
| Photo Credit: X/@AvaniDias

Australian authorities on Thursday acknowledged that India had granted visa to Avani Dias, chief of bureau of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), though she had “chosen” to leave India by that time. They expressed satisfaction at the handling of the case by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Ms. Dias claimed last week that she had to leave India “abruptly” as she was told that her “visa extension would be denied”. 

“The Australian government has been working with the Indian government and the ABC and Australia appreciates the MEA’s assistance and cooperation. Australia is pleased that the Indian government granted a visa for the journalist though by that time she had chosen to leave India. ABC coverage of India, particularly during the election period is important to Australians and the Australian government,” a source from the Australian High Commission here said in response to a question from The Hindu.

The Australian version was corroborated by Indian sources, who said that Ms. Dias was told nearly two weeks before she left India that her visa application was being processed and that the document would be delivered to her. They said that Ms. Diaz did receive the visa though she decided to leave.

Ms. Dias had said that the Indian authorities were upset over her reporting on pro-Khalistan activists in Punjab and that she was told that her reporting had “crossed a line”.

It is understood that the Indian side was surprised at the accusations by Ms. Dias.

The Indian sources added that following the grant of visa, her requirements for covering the Indian election was also being looked into positively and that it could have been arranged despite previous disagreements over her coverage of Punjab.

Official sources had told The Hindu on Wednesday that Ms. Dias’s “contention that she was not allowed to cover elections and was compelled to leave the country was not correct, misleading and mischievous”.

Ms. Dias gained prominence after a report on the ABC on the Khalistan issue was watched globally. Subsequently, the programme, “Sikhs, Spies and Murder: Investigating India’s alleged hit on foreign soil”, was blocked by YouTube in India.

In an email to the ABC, YouTube said it had received an order from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over the reportage under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

A crew of the ABC had visited the Punjab family home of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the pro-Khalistan activist who was slain by unknown assassins in Canada last year.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged that Nijjar was killed by Indian agents. 

Responding to a senior Australian journalist’s claims that she had to leave India abruptly on the day of voting for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections because her visa extension was denied, sources in the Union government have labelled them “not correct, misleading and mischievous”. 

The sources insisted that she had violated visa rules but was still given an assurance that her visa would be extended so she could cover the elections. 

In posts on social media, Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief for Australian broadcaster ABC News said she had to leave India on Friday, April 19.

“Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi Government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting ‘crossed a line’. After Australian Government intervention, I got a mere two-month extension… less than 24 hours before our flight,” Ms Dias posted on Instagram

“We were also told my election accreditation would not come through because of an Indian Ministry directive,” she said in the post, adding that she and her partner had to leave on day one of voting. 

In a strong response, a source said, “The contention of Avani Dias, South Asia correspondent of Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that she was not allowed to cover elections and was compelled to leave the country is not correct, misleading and mischievous.”

“Ms Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits. Inspite of this, on her request, she was assured that her visa would be extended for the coverage of the general elections. Her previous visa was valid till 20th April 2024,” the source added.