Modi Govt Made Me Feel Uncomfortable: Australian Journalist Avani Dias After Leaving India Over Visa Issues

Australian Journalist Avani Dias, who has reportedly left India after the government declined to extend her visa, has alleged that the Narendra Modi government made her "uncomfortable", forcing her to leave the country.

She has been in India since 2022 as the south-Asia correspondent for Australia's national broadcaster ABC. In the final episode of her podcast, 'Looking for Modi', she expressed frustration, stating that she found it increasingly challenging to carry out her job in India. She alleged that the government hindered her access to events, sent takedown notices to YouTube for her news stories, and denied her a standard visa renewal.

She has claimed that the decision over the visa was informed by a ministry official over the phone. "He specifically said it was because of my Sikh separatist story, saying it had gone too far," she said.

"It felt too difficult to do my job in India. I was struggling to get into public events run by Modi's party, the government wouldn't even give me the passes I need to cover the election and the ministry left it all so late, that we were already packed up and ready to go," she said in her podcast.

"It's all by design. The Narendra Modi government has made me feel so uncomfortable that we decided to leave. There's always a feeling of unease that this sort of backlash could come your way as a journalist in India, I've felt it the whole time I've been here, so have my colleagues from other publications."

In a post on X, the journalist claimed that her visa was not extended as her report "crossed the line". "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'," Dias said on X.

She added, "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,"

She said after intervention from the Australian government, her visa was extended for two months which was conveyed "less than 24 hours before my flight".

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said Dias was informed of the decision by an official from the Ministry of External Affairs, who said her most recent Foreign Correspondent episode "crossed a line".

ABC said YouTube has also blocked access in India to an episode of its news series Foreign Correspondent on the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing.