Navdeep Singh has become the latest Greens Party leader to be targeted for throwing his weight behind the Australia Day date change crusade.

Marking Australia Day on January 26 is becoming increasingly divisive, with indigenous Australians arguing the date "celebrates" the day the country was "invaded" by British forces and therefore, needs to be changed. Indigenous Australians and their supporters refer to January 26 as Invasion Day.

When Mr Singh endorsed the campaign pushing for the date change on his Facebook page with the picture of the last year’s rally, it did not go down well with some social media users who launched a scathing attack on the Greens’ candidate, some even subjected him to vile abuse.

While one user asked him to “leave the country,” another disparaged his Indian heritage and questioned his credentials while one particular user asked him why he is doing this when he is “not even an Aussie”.

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But these are just a few among a slew of racist comments which keep getting filthier as one scrolls down the post.

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Dismissing the rant as mere ‘opinions’, Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi that these people are saying what they have grown up to believe.

“These people just have narrow horizons and that is mainly because of leaders like Scott Morrison’s vendetta politics. Sometimes he targets Africans, then Muslims, now he is aiming at Aboriginal people,” said Mr Singh.

“The day is not far when he will focus his attention on Indians considering they are doing exceptionally well in the corporate sector,” he added.

Mr Singh reiterated the need for an open and respectful conversation regarding the change in the date for Australia Day.

“I believe a change is date is very important for Australia as a nation. Changing the date of Australia Day would change the overall national attitude towards First people. Not only it influences future migration policies, but will also result in a more relaxed and tolerant society.

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In January 2018, the Greens Party leader Richard Di Natale had announced they will mount a national campaign in support of a new Australia Day date, pledging to use the party’s representatives in local government to strengthen the campaign.

Like Mr Natale, Mr Singh also believes that the date will eventually change regardless of what detractors say and think.

“Just like the Marriage Equality became a reality, Australia Day date change is also going to happen sooner or later,” he said.

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