The BBC on Thursday said that its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots has been made after “rigorous research according to highest editorial standards”, reported the Variety magazine.
A spokesperson told Variety that the BBC had asked the Indian government to reply to the matters raised in the documentary, but it declined to respond.
On January 17, the first episode of the two-part documentary India: The Modi Question was released. The documentary claimed that a team sent by the British government to inquire into the riots said that Modi, who was then the state’s chief minister, was “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the violence.
The documentary cited a report the inquiry team had sent the United Kingdom government. The documentary said that the report has never been published. The second part of the documentary, which examines Modi government’s track record following his re-election in 2019, will be released on January 24.
The BBC’s clarification on the documentary came on the same day when India’sMinistry of External Affairs described it as a “propaganda piece designed to push a discredited narrative”.
“The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible,” Arindam Bagchi, the ministry spokesperson said, on Thursday. “If anything, this…
