India expressed surprise and disappointment on Thursday after Canada blocked the social media handles and certain pages of ‘Australia Today’, just hours after the outlet broadcasted a joint press conference held by India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr. S Jaishankar and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal criticized Canada’s actions, calling them a display of hypocrisy concerning freedom of speech.

“We understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which are important diaspora outlets, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada,” Jaiswal said. “This happened just an hour or few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of EAM Dr. S Jaishankar with Penny Wong.”

He added, “We were surprised. It looks strange to us. But nonetheless, what I say is that these are actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.” During the press conference in Australia, Jaishankar addressed certain allegations made by Canada against India, pointing out that these claims were made without presenting specific evidence.

“You would have seen that the External Affairs Minister, in his media engagements, spoke about three things. One was Canada making allegations and a pattern has developed without any specific evidence,” Jaiswal explained.

Jaishankar also highlighted the reported surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed “unacceptable,” as well as the political support allegedly provided to anti-India groups within Canada. “So you can draw your conclusions from that, why the *Australia Today* channel was blocked by Canada,” Jaiswal concluded.