By IANS,
New Delhi : With incidents of assault on Indians in Australia continuing, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj Monday said a delegation of young MPs should be sent to that country to reassure Indian students that the Indian government cares for them.
“We need to ensure the security of our children in Australia,” Swaraj, deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha, told parliament.
“This house has so many young MPs. A delegation of young MPs should visit Australia to assure students that the Indian government cares for them and they are safe in that country,” Swaraj said.
Criticising the government for its alleged failure to protect the interests of the Indian diaspora, Swaraj alluded to the targeting of persons of Indian origin in Malaysia last year, the destruction of a Krishna temple in Kazakhstan and the imposition of taxes (jajiya) on Sikhs in Pakistan.
Drawing attention to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka after the end of Sri Lanka’s war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Swaraj underlined the need for a proactive role by the government to ensure safety and interests of Tamils in the island nation.
“We can’t remain indifferent to their cause,” she said during the motion of thanks to the president’s address to the parliament.
On Monday, an Indian student was found unconscious after being attacked in Sydney, making him the 11th victim in a month of alleged racial attacks in Australia. In the past two weeks, the Indian government has repeatedly conveyed its concerns to Australia over the attacks and asked it to ensure the security of Indian students.