Govt slams BBC documentary on PM Modi, calls it 'biased propaganda piece'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Jan, 2023 11:29 AM
New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) The government on Thursday criticised a BBC series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terming it "a biased propaganda piece".
"The documentary is a reflection on the agency that has made it. We think it is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible. Can't dignify such a film," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
The two-part BBC series "India: The Modi Question" has evoked sharp reactions.
The outline summary of the series says that it's "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".
Last year in June, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging a clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court had said the case was "devoid of merits" and was filed "obviously, for ulterior design".
Speaking at the meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "Monsoon session of Parliament was a complete washout entirely due to the government's obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance."
The Chief Secretary said the 300-bed state of the art hospital will act as a tertiary care centre for the entire northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's Subject Expert Committee has granted Zydus Cadila's three-dose vaccine emergency use authorisation in India. The vaccine can be administered to people aged 12 and above.
The Punjab Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested former state Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a fraud case pertaining to the sale of land in 2020 and is likely to be produced in a court on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the Centre and has been raising his voice over several issues. He has criticised the Modi-led government over the fuel price hike, alleged Pegasus snooping row, three farm laws and several others in recent times.
Dharam Das is the disciple of late Mahant Ram Abhiram Das, who had reportedly placed the idols inside the disputed structure on December 22 midnight in 1949. Das, a prominent face of Ram Mandir Movement and one of the main litigants from Hindu side in the Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, lodged the complaint at Ram Janmabhoomi police station.