BBC Modi documentary: In Govt vs Opposition, blocked links resurface on Twitter
- BBC has recently released the first episode of the documentary series on Narendra Modi questioning his leadership when he was at the helm of the Gujarat cabinet when the state was plagued with communal riots in 2002.
'Censorship' as an order of the ruling is no surprise in India. However, unlike other instances, this time not allowing Indians to watch a documentary made by British Broadcasting Company (BBC) on Prime Minister Narendra Modi has triggered a rebel act in the Centre versus Opposition.
BBC has recently released the first episode of the documentary series on Narendra Modi questioning his leadership when he was at the helm of the Gujarat cabinet when the state was plagued with communal riots that saw many Muslims die in 2002.
The docu-series is not available to Indian viewers, a likelihood that it has been banned in India. however no official statement has been released akin to the same.
Trinamool Congress MP Mohua Moitra said her tweet leading to the link of the 'controversial' first part of the two-part series 'India: The Modi Question' was not taken down.
The MP shared a list which contained the name of fellow MP Derek O' Brien and lawyer Prashant Bhushan and others who shared the link to the controversial docu-series.
"If telling the truth is a rebellion, then we all are rebels. Sorry, haven't been elected to represent world's largest democracy to accept censorship," Moitra wrote on Twitter.
Further Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien, who on Saturday flagged that his tweet containing a link to the documentary was taken down, said on Sunday that one of the links was still active.
Another Opposition politician Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also took to Twitter to question the ruling government's act of censorship. "In the age of VPN, how impactful are these bans under emergency clauses cited by the I&B Ministry to ban a BBC documentary. The more they pour scorn on it, write protest letters, the more people would be curious to watch," Chaturvedi wrote.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday took on the "malicious campaigns" inside and outside India in connection to the UK's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)'s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said that some people "consider the BBC above the Supreme Court of India".
The Union Minister alleged that they "lower" the country's dignity and image to any extent to "please their moral masters".
Taking to Twitter, Rijiju said that minorities in the country are moving ahead positively.
"Minorities, or for that matter every community in India is moving ahead positively. India's image cannot be disgraced by malicious campaigns launched inside or outside India. PM @narendramodi Ji's voice is the voice of 1.4 billion Indians," Rijiju tweeted.
"Some people in India still haven't gotten over the colonial intoxication. They consider BBC above the Supreme Court of India and lower the country's dignity and image to any extent to please their moral masters," the Minister added (roughly translated from Hindi).
Titled India: The Modi Question the first of the two-part series was aired in the UK on Tuesday. The second part will go out next Tuesday.
The BBC said it was "committed to highlighting important issues from around the world".
The first episode tracks Modi's first steps into politics, including his rise through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to his appointment as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat.
In a statement, BBC said, "The documentary series examines the tensions between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority and explores the politics of Modi in relation to those tensions."
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Business NewsNewsIndiaBBC Modi documentary: In Govt vs Opposition, blocked links resurface on Twitter
First Published:22 Jan 2023, 09:38 PM IST
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