Government blocks YouTube videos showing controversial BBC documentary on PM Modi

In addition to the YouTube videos showing the controversial BBC documentary, the Center also ordered Twitter to block more than 50 tweets containing links to the affected YouTube videos Image Courtesy ANI

New Delhi: The Indian government has decided to take action against the controversial BBC documentary which tries to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bad light.

Several YouTube videos sharing the first episode of the controversial BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ have been blocked in accordance with instructions issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The ANI news agency quoted officials as saying on Saturday that in addition to YouTube videos showing the controversial BBC documentary, the Center also ordered Twitter to block more than 50 tweets containing links to the affected YouTube videos. .

The Foreign Office previously called the controversial BBC documentary a propaganda piece reflecting the colonial mentality.

YouTube and Twitter have complied with the government after instructions were reportedly issued by the Information and Broadcasting Secretary on Friday using emergency powers under the 2021 IT rules.

Britain’s national broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a controversial two-part series attacking Prime Minister Modi’s tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Shortly after its release, the controversial BBC documentary on PM Modi sparked outrage and was removed from some platforms.

India on Thursday denounced the BBC’s controversial documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a “piece of propaganda” designed to promote a discredited narrative.

“We believe this is a propaganda piece designed to promote a particular discredited narrative. The bias and lack of objectivity and outspoken colonial mentality are plainly visible,” the ministry spokesperson said. of Foreign Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, during a weekly press briefing.

Even though the documentary was not made available in India by BBC India, some YouTube channels appear to have uploaded it to promote an anti-Indian program.

ANI quoted officials as saying that YouTube has also been instructed to block the video if it is uploaded to its platform again. They added that Twitter had also been tasked with identifying and blocking tweets containing the link to the video on other platforms.

This decision was taken after senior government officials from several ministries reviewed the documentary and found that it was an attempt to denigrate the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India and to sow the division between various Indian communities.

The sources added that the documentary was therefore judged as undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity and likely to negatively impact India’s friendly relations with foreign states.