New Delhi: The controversy over the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasing. The Ministry of External Affairs of India has also given its response on this. At the same time, in Britain also the issue of this documentary has been raised in the Parliament there. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also reacted after the Pakistani-origin MP raised the issue here on Thursday.
British broadcaster BBC has created a new two-part series titled India: The Modi Question. Its first part has been released on Tuesday. In this series, the political journey of PM Modi's initial phase has been talked about. It also mentions the riots in Gujarat when Modi was the Chief Minister. This part talks about PM Modi's alleged role in the Gujarat riots. There is a dispute regarding this.
Propaganda piece: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the documentary as the “propaganda piece” that smacked of a “continuing colonial mindset” and questioned the agenda behind it.
Asked for the Indian government’s response to the documentary at the weekly briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi underscored that the documentary had not been screened in India and responded on the basis of inputs from the Indian high commission in London.
Was released on BBC Two on 17 January
It was released on BBC Two on 17 January. Controversy started as soon as the series arrived. Its protest started on social media in Britain. People objected to this and said that BBC should also make a series on the Bengal famine of 1943. In which more than 30 lakh people died due to starvation and disease. One Twitter user wrote that the BBC should also make a series titled UK: The Churchill Question. Seeing the growing controversy, a day later, on Wednesday, the BBC removed the series from YouTube.
Rishi Sunak defended Modi
On Thursday, Pakistan-origin Labor Party MP Imran Hussain raised the issue in the UK Parliament. After this, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended his counterpart Narendra Modi. He said that he does not agree with the characterization of his Indian counterpart. He said the UK government's position on this has been clear and long-standing and has not changed. Sunak further said, 'Of course we do not tolerate harassment, wherever it may be, but I do not agree at all with the characterization that has been put forward about Narendra Modi.
Sentiments of crores of people were hurt: Lord Rami Ranger
Earlier, Lord Rami Ranger, a member of Britain's House of Lords, targeted the BBC in his tweet on Wednesday. The British MP accused the BBC of biased reporting and also criticized the BBC for hurting the sentiments of crores of people in India.
Lord Rami Ranger wrote in his tweet that "BBC News, you have hurt the sentiments of crores of people of India and also insulted the democratically elected Prime Minister of India, Indian Police and Indian Judiciary. We condemn riots and death of people and we also condemn your biased reporting."
Far from facts: United Hindu Front
An organization named United Hindu Front also strongly condemned the BBC on Thursday. Front's International Working President Jai Bhagwan Goyal said that BBC knows that if it wants to be discussed worldwide, it will have to take support of Modi's name only.
He said that the two-part series 'India the Modi Question' on BBC is far from the facts. He objected to its name, saying that Modi would be a 'question' for the UK, such foul language would be befitting the BBC's ethos. But Modi is the 'answer' for India and many countries of the world.
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