The row over the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been escalating with Centre cracking down on online content related to it and a section of people relentlessly sharing more links despite blocks by the government.
Students at the Hyderabad University also screened the documentary which questioned PM Modi’s leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The students’ union of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University has also planned a screening of the controversial documentary despite a warning.
TMC’s firebrand leader Mahua Moitra, who had shared a link to the documentary on her Twitter handle a few days back, shared another link on Tuesday after the previous portal took down the documentary.
Latest Updates in BBC Documentary Row
-JNU Students Watch Documentary on Phones, Laptops
After the JNU did not give its approval to screening of the documentary, a group of students gathered to watch the documentary in the university on Tuesday evening. However, after the electricity went out in the Students’ Union office, they gathered into a cafeteria inside the campus, where they watched the documentary on their cellphones and laptops, NDTV reported.
– Truth Shines Bright, Has Nasty Habit of Coming Out: Rahul on BBC Docu on Modi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said any kind of ban, oppression and frightening people are not going to stop the truth from coming out. “If you read our scriptures, if you read Bhagavad Gita or you read the Upanishads, you will see in it, it is written that the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out. So, you can ban, you can suppress the press, you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED all the stuff, but, the truth is the truth. Truth shines bright. It has a nasty habit of coming out. So, no amount of banning, oppression and frightening people is going to stop the truth from coming out,” he said.
– British MP Lord Popat writes to BBC, Says Documentary Can Incite Discord
British MP Lord Popat writes to BBC expressing dissatisfaction over the Documentary on PM Modi. He argued that such unsubstantiated claims can cause harm to the reputation of a democratically elected leader and can also incite discord within a multicultural British society.
– Not Familiar with BBC Documentary, Very Familiar with Shared ‘democratic Values’ with India: US State Department
The US has distanced itself from the BBC’s controversial series, saying it’s not familiar with the documentary, but very familiar with the shared values that connects Washington and New Delhi as two thriving, vibrant democracies.
US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that Washington shares an “exceptionally deep partnership” with New Delhi based on values that are common to both the US and Indian democracies.
-‘Truth Always Comes Out’: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over BBC documentary on PM Modi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is in the last leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, held a press conference on Tuesday and reacted to the controversy over the BBC documentary on PM Modi.
“The truth always comes out. No amount of banning the press and using institutions like ED and CBI against people can suppress the truth from coming out,” Rahul Gandhi said.
-TMC’s Mahua Moitra Shares Link Again
TMC MP Mahua Moitra shared link to the documentary again on Tuesday after the previous link shared by her stopped working. Moitra had on Sunday shared link from archive.org, which has taken down the documentary.
Sharing a fresh link on Tuesday, Mahua Moitra said, “Here’s a new link that works. Good, bad, or ugly – we decide. Govt doesn’t tell us what to watch”.
On Sunday, she shared a link in a tweet and said, “Sorry, Haven’t been elected to represent world’s largest democracy to accept censorship. Here’s the link. Watch it while you can.
-Internet Archive Takes Down BBC’s Documentary on PM Modi
The Internet Archive, a US-based non-profit library, removed the first part of the controversial BBC documentary The Modi Question. This comes after Union government asked Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites to take down the documentary, terming the documentary as an “anti-India garbage” and a “propaganda piece”.
The Internet Archive previously contained several uploads of the BBC’s The Modi Question but, on opening the link to the documentary now, a message on the page read: “This item is no longer available. Items may be taken down for various reasons, including by decision of the uploader or due to a violation of our Terms of Use”.
-BBC Documentary on PM Shown at Hyderabad University, JNU Students Plan Screening Despite Warning
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) asked its students’ union on Monday to cancel the screening of the BBC documentary critical about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The admin decision came after a poster was released by the university’s students’ union, announcing the screening of the controversial documentary at its office on Tuesday.
On the other hand, a students’ group from Hyderabad Central University organised the screening of the BBC documentary inside the university on January 21.
The JNU admin has also warned of “strict disciplinary action” in case the event is not cancelled. Sources in Jawaharlal Nehru Students Union (JNUSU), however, said since the documentary has not been banned legally, they will go ahead with the screening.
The screening in Hyderabad was organise by Student Islamic Organisation (SIO) & Muslim Student Federation known as Fraternity group. Over 50 students from the group attended attended the screening.
-‘Familiar with Shared Values, Not Documentary’: US Responds to BBC Documentary on PM Modi
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Monday said he is familiar with the values that vibrant democracies that India and US shares but not with the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I’m not familiar with the documentary you’re referring to, however, I am very familiar with the shared values that enact the United States and India as two thriving and vibrant democracies,” Ned Price told a reporter who wanted to know the state department spokesperson’s reaction to the documentary which has sparked controversy in India, according to news agency ANI.
Price said that economic and political elements coupled with deep people-to-people ties bolster the US-India global strategic partnership. “I’m not familiar with the documentary you’re referring to. I am very familiar with the shared values that enact the United States and India as two thriving, vibrant democracies. When we have concerns about actions that are taken in India, we’ve voiced those when we’ve had an occasion to do so,” Price was quoted as saying.
-Centre Reacts Sharply to BBC Documentary
The central government has reacted sharply to the BBC documentary which questioned PM Modi’s leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Centre has slammed the UK broadcaster for documenting “lies” in a “propaganda piece”, with a crackdown on YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links of the documentary.
Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday hit out at those supporting the documentary and said that for some people “the white rulers are still the masters whose decision on India is final and not the decision of the Supreme Court of India or the will of the people” of the country.
The Union minister had on Sunday also attacked thos in India who “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,” Rijiju had said in a tweet.
The two-part BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Modi was the chief minister of the state. The documentary has not been screened in India.
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