BBC Controversy row: The Indian diaspora, consisting of several organisations, living in the United Kingdom organised a protest outside the BBC headquarters in central London to protest against what they called 'fake news' behind the controversial series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protest, named 'Chalo BBC', took place outside BBC headquarters across Britain in several key locations like London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.
The organizations included Indian Diaspora UK (IDUK), Friends of Indian Society International (FISI) UK, Insight UK and Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB) among others. The protesters waved placards reading "Boycott BBC", "British Bias Corporation" and "Stop the Hinduphobic Narrative", and chanted slogans such as "Shame on BBC" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
What protestors have to say about the documentary?
"The documentary on Prime Minister Modi was very biased given that he was completely cleared by the Indian judiciary, and yet the BBC decides to become judge and jury,” said Jayu Shah from FISI UK, among the protesters in London.
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"The BBC needs to be investigated internationally and the directors of the board of the BBC should be investigated for failing in their duty as a public broadcaster,” he said. Another protester said she had come with her wheelchair-bound mother because they felt strongly against the "false and anti-India propaganda" they felt was being spread by the British broadcaster.
What is BBC's stand on the documentary?
The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Modi was the CM of that state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset".
The BBC has defended the programme as “rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards”. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended Prime Minister Modi over the BBC documentary, asserting that he "didn’t agree with the characterisation” of his Indian counterpart.
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