NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has criticised the BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, describing it as a “propaganda piece” designed to push a particular “discredited narrative”.
“The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing today in reply to several questions on the first part of documentary “India: The Modi Question” that deals with the riots that broke out in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister. The MEA also made light of the then British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s comments that an investigation by the British government had concluded that as CM, Modi had “proactively” prevented the police from stopping riots. “Investigation? Inquiry?” asked Bagchi, going on to wonder whether the British were ruling India that they conducted an inquiry. The documentary has been taken off air in India but can be viewed on virtual private networks. “Do note that this has not been screened in India… We think that this is a propaganda piece, designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible,” said Bagchi. The documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling “this narrative” again. “There is an agenda behind it,” he added.
Then Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal recalled that he was “aware of mischief by the UK mission”. The UK mission had sent a diplomat to Gujarat and then circulated a highly slanted “report” to EU envoys in Delhi. “I was informed by an EU envoy which prompted me to issue warning to missions in Delhi to not interfere in our internal affairs,” he recalled on Twitter.
Meanwhile, responding to criticism, the BBC said its documentary was “rigorously researched”.