Gujarat Assembly passes resolution against BBC for documentary on 2002 riots

The Gujarat Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution requesting the Centre to take strict action against the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC for tarnishing the image and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with its documentary on the 2002 riots in the stateThe controversial twopart series by the BBC titled India The Modi Question misrepresents the events of 2002 in a malicious and lowlevel attempt to tarnish Indias image globally Bharatiya Janata Party BJP MLA Vipul Patel said in the House on Friday while moving the resolutionThe documentary claims to have probed certain aspects of the riots which took place after the Godhra train burning incident when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat Soon after its release the government issued directions in January this year to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentaryPatels resolution was supported by BJP MLAs Manisha Vakil Amit Thaker Dhavalsinh Zala and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi It was passed by voice vote in the absence of Congress MLAs who were expelled from the House earlier in the dayAlso Read BBC documentary on PM Modi TMC MPs share link say they wont accept censorshipAfter passing the resolution unanimously Speaker Shanker Chaudhary said the attempt by the BBC is reprehensible and is condemned vehemently adding the House passed the resolution to send its message to the CentreIndia is a democratic country and freedom of expression is at the core of its Constitution but that does not mean a news media can act by abusing such freedom said Patel while moving the privatemember resolution in the second sitting of the HouseIf someone behaves or acts like this then it cannot be taken lightly BBC is losing its credibility and seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian government Hence this House requests the central government to take strict action against the mindboggling findings shown in the BBC documentary Patel said in the AssemblyThrough the documentary there is a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an agenda to affect the countrys intention to find top place globally Patel saidHe claimed that opposition parties in other countries support the government during such times but this is not the case in India which allowed international organisations like the BBC to get the strength to carry out activities against the countryThe NanavatiShah Commission concluded after a thorough investigation that burning of coaches S6 and 7 of Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27 2002 was a premeditated conspiracy and that the statewide riots that followed were spontaneous Patel saidThe NanavatiShah Commission found no evidence that the state government religious organisation or political party played any role in the riots and attempts to make the then chief minister Modi and officials responsible have also failed in the courts the BJP MLA assertedSupporting the resolution BJP legislator Vakil said the intention of the documentary was to tarnish Indias global image adding Modis life has been a journey of courage and compassion As the chief minister and prime minister he has become the most popular world leader she saidOn the 2002 riots she said certain NGOs and activists conspired to defame the Gujarat government and wanted to damage Modis reputation adding there was a larger political conspiracy of destabilising the state government by hook or crookReferring to the Supreme Court verdict in the Zakia Jafri case giving clean chit to Modi Vakil claimed the BBC documentary was mere international propaganda which is totally biased and showcases the colonial mindsetSupporting the resolution Thaker said Modi is not a question but a solution for various issues plaguing the world today such as climate change and COVID19 pandemicThe BBC is in the habit of making controversial documentaries on subjects in India Thaker allegedHe also questioned the timing of the documentary by connecting it with the conclusion of Congress Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul GandhiMinister Sanghavi said the documentary was not just against Modi but against 135 crore citizens of the countryThe resolution brought by Vipul Patel for strict action is historicIs it Modis fault to realise the dream of making Gujarat a riotfree state Many forces worked to ensure Gujarat does not get a stable government Sangahvi said in his speech in the HouseHe said the socalled intellectuals started hurling one allegation after another against Modi after he took over as the prime ministerAs 2024 Lok Sabha polls approaches they opponents have no other issue against Modi They used the BBC to make a documentary Sanghavi addedHe also criticised social activist Teesta Setalvad and said truths regarding her have not been shown in any documentaryThe minister also quoted important people who have commented and criticised the BBC documentary such as the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson British parliamentarian Bob Blackman and former BBC head Mark TullySanghavi compared the BBC documentary to the toolkit conspiring against India adding that certain sections of the media suffered from Modi phobiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever