The Assam Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking action against the BBC for its documentary on Gujarat riots — ‘India: The Modi Question’. The state Assembly witnessed an uproar over the controversial documentary, with the Opposition demanding to screen the documentary inside the House.
Raising the issue through Private Members’ resolution, BJP MLA Bhuban Pegu alleged that the BBC has questioned India’s free press, judiciary, and its democratically-elected majority government in the documentary.
However, the resolution has been finally passed in the Assembly after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and ruling BJP MLAs supported Pegu’s claim.
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The members from the Opposition bench opposed the resolution claiming that it has no relation with the state.
CPI-M MLA Manoranjan Talukdar said, “The topic of this resolution does not relate to Assam. None of us has watched it. I guess Pegu has watched it and that is why he brought this resolution.”
He added that to have a discussion on the resolution, there must be a screening of the documentary in the Assembly. Three Opposition MLAs — Sherman Ali, Karim Uddin Barbhuiyan, and Akhil Gogoi — joined Talukdar and demanded the screening of the BBC documentary for all legislators.
In the resolution, Pegu said: “It is disturbing to note that even 75 years after India’s independence from colonial rule, the BBC seeks to continue to act as the true arbiter of India’s internal issues, through its dubious journalism.”
He also claimed that the documentary broadcast by the BBC in February appears to be a calculated attempt at recreating communal disharmony in India by broadcasting triggering visuals of violent crimes while repeatedly highlighting the purported involvement of religion and religious differences.
“So as to preserve the sovereignty and the foundation of India, I request this August House to adopt a resolution demanding the “strictest possible” action against the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) “malicious and dangerous agenda to instigate religious communities and flare religious tension” and malign India’s global standing by airing the malicious two-part documentary,” Pegu opined.
However, Debabrata Saikia, Leader of the Opposition, claimed the resolution would have an impact on free speech and the press — two key rights protected by the Indian Constitution.
According to Saikia, the BBC published a documentary on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in 2010 and Narendra Modi asserted in 2013 that the UK-based news organization was more trustworthy than Doordarshan and All India Radio.
“The then Congress government did not ban it or did not unleash the ED and CBI after the media for writing negative news,” he added.
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