UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the British Parliament, claiming he “doesn’t agree with the characterisation” of his Indian counterpart in the BBC documentary series.
UK PM Rishi Sunak defends PM Modi in British Parliament
These comments were made by Mr. Sunak regarding the contentious film that Imran Hussain, a British MP of Pakistani descent, brought up in the British Parliament.
Rishi Sunak responded to Imran Hussiens question in Parliament:
“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 characterization that the honourable gentleman has put forward to,”
BBC aired a two part series attacking PM Modi’s tenure as Gujarat CM during 2002 riots
During the Gujarat riots of 2002, the national broadcaster of the UK, BBC, aired a two-part series criticising PM Narendra Modi’s time in office as Gujarat’s chief minister. Following backlash, select platforms pulled the documentary.
Leading British citizens of Indian descent criticised the series. Lord Rami Ranger, a prominent British citizen, claimed that the “BBC caused immense harm to over a billion Indians.”
Prominent Indian Origin UK citizens condemn the series
Rami tweeted his disapproval of the BBC’s skewed reporting “@BBCNews You have caused a great deal of hurt to over a billion Indians It insults a democratically elected@PMOIndia Indian Police & the Indian judiciary. We condemn the riots and loss of life & also condemn your biased reporting.”
Ministry of External Affairs reacts
The Ministry of External Affairs responded to the BBC story by claiming that it was entirely biassed.
While addressing a weekly briefing in New Delhi, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We believe that this is propaganda. This is not impartial. That’s prejudiced. Be aware that India has not yet seen a screening of this. We don’t want to elaborate further so that this issue doesn’t gain much respect.”
He also questioned “the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it.”
Further stated “The documentary is a reflection of the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it; frankly, we do wish to dignify these efforts,”
In reference to alleged statements made in the documentary series by former UK Secretary Jack Straw, Bagchi remarked “He (Jack Straw) seems to be referring to some internal UK report. How do I have access to that? It’s a 20-year-old report. Why would we jump on it now? Just because Jack says it how do they lend it that much legitimacy.”
“I heard words like inquiry and investigations. There is a reason why we use the colonial mindset. We don’t use words loosely. What inquiry they were diplomats there…investigation, are they ruling the country? Bagchi asked.
