Ministry of I&B blocks BBC documentary on PM Modi; Opposition lashes out.

The
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued directions to block YouTube
videos, Twitter links to the 1st episode of the BBC documentary on Modi,
titled, "India: The Modi Question".
According
to reports, the directions were issued by I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra on
January 20, using emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules,
2021. Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the directions, said a
source.
The
controversial documentary produced by the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster
on Modi talks about his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The documentary had
earlier been termed a "propaganda piece" by an official of the
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) who added that the documentary reflects the
“agencies and individuals” who carry a “colonial mindset.”
"While
it was not made available in India by the BBC, some YouTube channels had
uploaded it to promote an anti-India agenda,” a government official said.
It
has been reported that the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has
issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos of the first episode of
BBC's "hateful propaganda". It has also issued orders to the
microblogging site, Twitter for blocking over 50 tweets with links to these
videos.
According
to media reports, multiple ministries, including the MEA, the Ministry of Home
Affairs and the I&B Ministry, examined the documentary and found the
documentary to be "casting aspersions on the authority and credibility of
the Supreme Court of India, sowing divisions among various Indian communities,
and making unsubstantiated allegations regarding the actions of foreign
governments in India."
“The
documentary was accordingly found to be undermining the sovereignty and
integrity of India, and having the potential to adversely impact India’s
friendly relations with foreign States, as also public order within the
country,” said the official.
Reacting
to the development, the Congress general secretary for communications Jairam
Ramesh on Saturday tweeted: “PM and his drumbeaters assert that the new BBC
documentary on him is slanderous. Censorship has been imposed. Then why did PM
Vajpayee want his exit in 2002, only to be pressurised not to insist by the
threat of resignation by Advani? Why did Vajpayee remind him of his rajdharma?”
Trinamool
Congress leader Derek O’Brien said his own tweet had been deleted.
“Censorship... @[email protected] has taken down my tweet of the
#BBCDocumentary, it received lakhs of views. The 1 [email protected] docu exposes how PM
@narendramodi hates minorities,” he tweeted. He also posted a screenshot
showing that his tweet had been withheld in India in response to a legal
demand.
(Source-The
Hindu)
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