On April 23, Tuesday, Geeta Mohan, a journalist with India Today, took to X to report that sources have indicated that Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief of ABC News, maybe lying against the Indian government. Earlier in the day, the anti-India ‘journalist’ Avani Dias claimed she had to leave India immediately because the Modi government had not extended her visa.
Geeta Mohan quoted sources saying that the Australian journalist’s claim that she was forced to leave the nation and was not permitted to cover elections was incorrect, misleading and mischievous.
Debunking the falsehoods propagated by ABC News’s South Asia Bureau Chief, India Today journalist informed that Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional endeavours. She added that despite this, she was informed that her visa would be extended at her request for the coverage of the Lok Sabha elections.
She was given an extension until the end of June for her previous visa, which was valid until April 20, 2024. The day Dias paid the visa fee, that is on April 18, 2024, was when the process of granting visa extension was completed. Geeta Mohan stated that Dias did, however, opt to leave India on April 20th and that at that time, her visa was very much valid and her request for an extension stood approved.
It was further reported how Dias’ assertion that she was not granted authorization to cover elections was likewise untrue.
Sources:
— Geeta Mohan گیتا موہن गीता मोहन (@Geeta_Mohan) April 23, 2024
Avani Dias, South Asia Correspondent of Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC)’s contention 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… https://t.co/p7s1CP9qhf
“Coverage of election activities outside of booths is permitted to all Journalist Visa holders. Authority letters are required only for access to polling booths and counting stations. This, however, cannot be processed while the visa extension is under process,” the India Today journalist wrote, further confirming how other ABC correspondents – Meghna Bali and Som Patidar – have already received their letters.
How Avani Dias construed a lie about her visa details to malign the Modi Govt
On April 23, the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) News, Avani Dias, took to X (formerly Twitter) to claim that she had to leave India abruptly as the Modi government told her an extension of her visa would be denied as her reporting had “crossed a 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". After Australian Government intervention, I got a mere two-month extension …less than 24 hours before my flight. 1/2
— Avani Dias (@AvaniDias) April 22, 2024
The controversial ‘journalist’ also claimed that the Indian government had plans to not allow her accreditation to cover the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Dias claimed that her visa was extended for 2 months at the last minute, following which she went back to Australia.
She lamented returning to her home country just a day before the first phase of the elections.
Thereafter, her employer ABC News published a controversial article (archive) claiming that Dias received a phone call from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and was notified about the denial of her visa extension.
The publication said that MEA informed the ‘journalist’ that she crossed a line with her propaganda-laden YouTube video, which suggested that India was somehow involved in the assassination of Canada-based Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Nonetheless, the Modi government directed YouTube to withhold the anti-India propaganda video by ABC News and its South Asia Bureau Chief Avani Dias. “This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order,” reads a message on the YouTube link of the video
