‘India: The Modi Question’, a documentary by the British news agency BBC (BBC) has created a lot of uproar in India. The controversy over the documentary has now taken political colour. The Central Government has directed Twitter to block all tweets sharing the BBC documentary, which is claimed to be critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tweets through which the YouTube link of the documentary has been shared have also been blocked. The Congress is raising its voice against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for stopping its screening in the country.
According to sources, instructions have been issued to Twitter yesterday by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry using emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. Over 50 tweets containing links to YouTube videos of the documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ have been ordered to be blocked. Both YouTube and Twitter have removed the related videos.
The Indian Government considered this documentary as a ‘propaganda piece’, an attempt to attack the authority of the Supreme Court and make baseless allegations regarding the work of foreign governments in India. According to sources, India-UK relations are believed to be behind the removal of this documentary. This documentary is allegedly undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity. It can also spoil India’s friendly relations with foreign states. It can have a wrong effect on the public order even within the country.
Table of Contents
- What is the emergency power under Section 16 of IT Rules-2021?
- ‘India: The Modi Question’- What is this BBC Documentary about?
- How did India Respond?
- Retired judges, bureaucrats, and armed forces veterans co-sign statement rebutting BBC documentary
- Disputes between Congress-BJP flared up
- BBC defends documentary on PM Modi
What is the emergency power under Section 16 of IT Rules-2021?
Section 16 of IT Rules-2021 is formally known as the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules-2021. The Act enacted on February 25, 2021, gives the government the authority to “block information in case of emergency”. Such orders may be issued for certain reasons, including public safety and national security.
The rule states that the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting “may, in case of emergency nature, if he is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient and justifiable for blocking for public access of any information or part thereof through any computer resource and…as an interim measure issue such directions as he may consider necessary to such identified or identifiable persons, publishers or intermediary in control of such computer resource hosting such information or part thereof without giving him an opportunity of hearing.”
‘India: The Modi Question’- What is this BBC Documentary about?
‘India: The Modi Question’ is a two-part film series. This documentary, set against the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat riots, describes the political situation when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Its first episode aired in the UK on 17 January. The next episode is going to air on January 24, the screening of which has been stopped.
The first episode traces the early political life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and how he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Many things have been shown against him in this documentary. questions have been raised about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure in Gujarat. The riots broke out in the year 2002 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. About 2,000 people were killed in this riot. Questions have been raised on Narendra Modi and the BJP government regarding this. It has been claimed that this is completely researched reporting, which is showing the correct picture of violence.
How did India Respond?
Issuing a strong reaction against ‘India: The Modi Question’, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that it is a propaganda piece. Its purpose is to present a kind of perspective, which people have already rejected. India has said in this documentary that there is a lack of objectivity in this documentary, due to which the screening of the documentary has been stopped in the country.
Senior officials from numerous ministries saw the documentary as an attempt to undermine the Supreme Court’s authority and make unsubstantiated claims about the activity of foreign governments in India. According to sources, senior officials from ministries, including External Affairs, Home, and Broadcasting, reviewed the documentary. The Central Government has issued an order against Twitter and YouTube channels showing clips of the documentary. The central government has also appealed to block the accounts related to both social media handles.
Retired judges, bureaucrats, armed forces veterans co-sign statement rebutting BBC documentary
A total of 302 eminent citizens including 13 retired judges, 133 retired bureaucrats and 156 retired armed forces personnel on Saturday signed a statement calling the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi an ‘illusion of the resurrection of the British Empire’. They said that the documentary has multiple factual inaccuracies and smells of motivated misrepresentation. According to the statement, the BBC series is based on delusory information that calls into doubt India’s basic existence as an independent, democratic republic.
The letter said, “So now we have the BBC, a British media organisation, which naturally spreads sensationalism, no matter how falsified its basis, setting itself up for second-guessing itself and rejecting the verdict of the Supreme Court of India, prompts us to question the BBC’s malfeasance and the motivations behind this series.”
The signatories included former foreign secretary Shashank, former home secretary L.C. Goyal, former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi, and former Uttar Pradesh DGP O.P. Singh among others. He also said that the Supreme Court had upheld the closure report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the apex court after years of rigorous investigation into the Gujarat riots.
Disputes between Congress-BJP flared up
Criticizing the Modi government for censorship of the documentary in the country, the opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) have raised questions about the Centre’s decision. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien have accused the government of censorship.
‘The Prime Minister and his admirers say the new BBC documentary on Modi is malicious. Censorship has been imposed on it. Why, then, did Vajpayee want his ouster in 2002, only to exert pressure, not to budge due to threats of resignation from Advani? Why did Vajpayee remind him of his Rajdharma?’, Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
Derek O’Brien has claimed that this documentary is exposing PM Modi. He said, ‘Censorship. Twitter and Twitter India have removed my tweet on the BBC documentary. Millions of people have seen it. The 1-hour document shows how PM hates minorities.
BBC defends documentary on PM Modi
The BBC defended their documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that it was “rigorously researched” and tried to highlight critical concerns.
“The program was rigorously researched in accordance with the highest editorial standards,” a BBC representative stated, according to news agency PTI.
“A wide spectrum of voices, witnesses, and specialists were sought, and we have covered a variety of perspectives. This includes answers from BJP members. We provided the Indian government with a chance to respond to the problems discussed in the series. It declined to answer,” it added.
The BBC claimed it was committed to addressing significant problems from around the world and the documentary series probes the “tensions between India’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority and explores PM Narendra Modi’s politics in connection to those tensions”.
