The BBC sequence known as “India: The Modi Question” has provoked sharp reactions. (File)

The authorities at the moment strongly condemned a BBC sequence on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots as a “propaganda piece designed to push a discredited narrative” that should not be “dignified” with a response.

“Do note that this has not been screened in India. So, I am only going to comment in the context of what I have heard about it and what my colleagues have seen. Let me just make it very clear that we think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, the lack of objectivity, and frankly a continuing colonial mindset, is blatantly visible,” mentioned overseas ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

“If anything, this film or documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it and frankly we do not wish to dignify such efforts,” he harassed.

The BBC’s two-part sequence known as “India: The Modi Question” has provoked sharp reactions. The sequence descriptor calls it a “look at tensions between Indian PM Narendra Modi and India’s Muslim minority, investigating claims about his role in the 2002 riots that left over a thousand dead.”

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, responding to a Pakistan-origin MP’s query within the British parliament on the sequence, mentioned he “doesn’t agree with the characterization” of PM Modi.

I honour & respect the readability of pondering of our PM @RishiSunak & his swift response to the characterisation of Sri @narendramodi ji achieved within the parliament. #DefundtheBBC@VDoraiswami@reachind_uk@amarprasadreddy@KirenRijijupic.twitter.com/JXpht87VDw

— Gayatri 🇬🇧🇮🇳(BharatKiBeti) (@changu311) January 18, 2023

“The UK government’s position on this has been clear and long-standing and hasn’t changed, of course, we don’t tolerate persecution where it appears anywhere but I am not sure I agree at all with the characterisation that the honourable gentleman has put forward to,” Mr Sunak mentioned, snubbing Imran Hussain.

A Supreme Court-appointed probe discovered no proof of any wrongdoing by PM Modi, who was Chief Minister of Gujarat when the riots broke out in February 2002. The Special Investigation Team, in a report a decade after the riots, exonerated PM Modi citing “no prosecutable evidence”. In June final yr, the Supreme Court backed the clearance to PM Modi and mentioned the case was “devoid of merits” and was filed “obviously, for ulterior design”.

In 2013, when an area court docket cleared him of any position in one of many greatest massacres throughout the riots, PM Modi mentioned in a publish: “Satyameva Jayate (the truth prevails)”.

The BBC says the sequence examines how “Narendra Modi’s premiership has been dogged by persistent allegations about the attitude of his government towards India’s Muslim population” and “a series of controversial policies” carried out by PM Modi after his re-election in 2019, together with “the removal of Kashmir’s special status guaranteed under Article 370” and “a citizenship law that many said treated Muslims unfairly”, which “has been accompanied by reports of violent attacks on Muslims by Hindus.”

Lord Rami Ranger, a member of the UK House of Lords, was amongst those that accused the BBC of biased reporting.

“@BBCNews You have caused a great deal of hurt to over a billion Indians. It insults a democratically elected@PMOIndia Indian Police and the Indian judiciary. We condemn the riots and loss of life and also condemn your biased reporting,” he tweeted.

⁦⁦@BBCNews⁩ You have prompted a substantial amount of harm to over a billion Indians🇮🇳 It insults a democratically elected ⁦⁦@PMOIndia⁩ Indian Police & the Indian judiciary. We condemn the riots and lack of life & additionally condemn your biased reporting https://t.co/n38CTu07Il

— Lord Rami Ranger CBE (@RamiRanger) January 18, 2023

Many Indian origin Twitter customers scoffed and mentioned the BBC ought to run a sequence on the 1943 Bengal famine, which left some three million folks useless or dying of malnutrition or illness. The BBC, mentioned a tweet, ought to run a sequence on the Bengal Famine known as “UK: The Churchill Question.” Then UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as a part of the western warfare effort, ordered the diversion of meals from ravenous Indians to already well-supplied British troopers and stockpiles in Britain and Europe.